The Secrets of Ara Lestrange: Book 2
by Harlie93
Summary: AU Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts. Ara and Harry came out of the final task alive, but their problems are far from over. Ara and Draco leave their home behind, working to take down Voldemort while discovering the dark secrets their family have hidden. AL/CW J/L . Rated M for language & themes.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, everything belongs to JK Rowling. **

**Thank you to all who are stuck through the first book and are now reading the second one! sorry for the delay, I meant to post this last week, but ended up getting busy with work. I hope you all enjoy! thank you for all the reviews. **

Chapter 1

Getting Settled

Her skin was burning. It felt like it was getting tighter and she could only assume that this was why people who spent too much time in the sun seemed to shrivel as they got older. She wondered if those people felt that having tight, tan skin when they were young was worth the wrinkles in their old age. No, she supposed it wouldn't be. But she didn't care. How likely was it that she would make it to old age anyways?

She didn't particularly want to think because thinking meant that real life was there. Thinking meant that she'd have to decide what she and Draco would do when they were released for the summer holidays. Thinking meant thinking about Charlie and the awkward unsaid words that were clearly simmering. Thinking meant deciding what she wanted to do for work and more than anything, thinking meant deciding on how outspoken to be about Voldemort. Something she so desperately wanted to avoid.

The sun around her seemed to disappear suddenly as she was thrust into a shadow, causing her to look up at the person who was so rudely blocking the warmth.

"Are you going to lay about all day?"

"yes," she said shortly.

Sirius sighed and laid on the ground next to her "I was hoping we could talk… Me, you, and Draco."

Ara turned her head towards him. He looked hesitant… maybe nervous. "about what?"

Sirius shook his head and sat up quickly, "Draco isn't here, let's go find him."

He set off in the direction of the castle and Ara sighed deeply before standing up and following him at a more leisurely place, forcing him to slow down. They found Draco in the library of all places, he had spent more time there in recent days following the events of the third task. It seemed that he was avoiding his friends.

"Draco," Ara said quietly, but his head shot up from the book he had been reading. "Sirius wants to talk to us,"

Draco looked at him curiously but shrugged and followed the two of them out. They made their way to an unused classroom. Ara and Draco sat while Sirius paced nervously.

"Alright," he began, still pacing in front of them. "as you both know Voldemort is back and neither of you are safe exactly… well…"

Sirius hesitated, and Ara glanced at Draco who was simply staring at Sirius a guilty look on his face.

"I want you both to live with me," Sirius said quickly as though he were trying to rip off the band aid.

"what?" Ara asked surprised. She shook her head "no, I have a home," she insisted. While she hadn't exactly claimed her inheritance and figured everything out just yet, she knew she'd be staying in one of her family homes.

Sirius sighed and sat across from the two of them. "you're not safe at your house," he said softly "I'm not saying that you need to live with me permanently, but you'll be safe with me."

Ara shook her head "I'm sure I can get the goblins to help with the wards around my house."

She glanced at Draco who hadn't said anything. He was frowning but seemed to be considering the offer.

"With Voldemort back, we, as well as Dumbledore, don't think you'll be safe… Voldemort wants you to be a part of his army and Draco, your father won't be happy with you being gone with Ara, they're sure to come after – "

"No offense, but I think I proven that I can take care of myself – "

"It's not that I don't think you can," Sirius said, frustration showing in his voice "But Voldemort has a way of breaking into the strongest of wards – "

Ara opened her mouth to cut him off once more but was cut across by Draco.

"He's right Ara," he said softly, surprising both of them. He shrugged at their surprised looks "I don't want to deal with my father and you can't be there all the time… eventually you'll need to get a job or an internship and then Dumbledore can keep me safe while you're gone."

Ara frowned at him, she wasn't sure if he was serious about not wanting to see his father, she knew he wouldn't be in any immediate danger, Lucius did seem to love his son.

As if sensing her doubt Draco rolled his eyes "look I know you are going to spend hours worrying about me. You'll be at work and jump every time you think something is wrong. You can focus on yourself if you know I'm safe with someone and I know you trust Black… and the Potters," he said.

Ara sighed, it was true, she would feel more comfortable knowing that he was safe and sound.

"Fine," she said briefly "Just until school starts up again."

Sirius smiled largely "excellent… that's great…" he trailed off unsure of what to say.

Draco grimaced before saying "er I should probably tell you Black, since I'll be living with you and everything… it was me who put that hair loss potion in your drink."

Ara snorted, he had told her about it, but she hadn't known the man who he did it to at the time.

Sirius's eyes went wide, and he grabbed his hair "that was you? I knew it was a Slytherin!"

Draco shrugged.

Sirius's look turned into a smirk "well now that that has become clear who cut off all my hair, you should know that I am much harsher on those who live with me… I'd watch yourself"

* * *

The sun had gone down hours ago and Ara was staring out over the ledge of the astronomy tower. The constellations were burning bright in the cloudless sky. She knew she had been named after a constellation, it was unfortunate she couldn't see it as it was in the southern hemisphere.

Ara had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard the creaking up the stairs or the squeak of the door. She couldn't help but jump in surprise when she felt someone brush up beside her.

"Sorry," Charlie said, realizing he had startled her.

Ara sighed and shook her head "it's fine… I've just been a bit jumpy."

"That's understandable."

He wasn't looking at her and Ara felt a sense of dread and disappointment creep up her spine.

"How've you been?" he asked, still not making eye contact.

"fine," she said softly. "what is it Charlie?" she wanted him to say what he needed to say.

Charlie sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm going back to Romania."

Ara avoided looking at him, she knew it was coming, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to going months on end without seeing him "I figured you would… Your dragons need you."

Charlie nodded, still avoiding eye contact, instead choosing to stare at the night sky.

"I…. I'm sorry," he said plainly, quickly.

She knew it had been coming. Although he had comforted her after the last task, he had been distant since then. Despite knowing it had been coming, she still felt the tug at her heart and the sting behind her eyes.

She felt his two strong arms wrap around her waist as he buried his head in her neck "If you need me at all, I'll be on the first illegal portkey back," he said softly.

It was then that Ara realized he was scared. Scared of what would happen with Voldemort back, scared of what would happen with them. She intertwined her fingers with his

She couldn't blame him, she really couldn't. She knew he belonged in Romania. She had never thought he'd stay in England. She had never thought _she _would stay in England.

* * *

Ara walked up the winding staircase, heading towards Dumbledore's office. The train was leaving in an hour, but he had asked to speak with her before she and Draco left.

"enter," came the soft voice of Dumbledore when Ara knocked on his door.

"Headmaster," she said, walking towards his deck. Dumbledore looked older, she couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to lose a student.

"Ara, thank you for coming," he said, gesturing for her to sit across from his desk. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you here today, I do have several important things to discuss with you."

Ara ran her hands through her hair tiredly, she wasn't sure what he was going to ask of her, but she knew it would mean making decisions, something she didn't want to do.

"There's nothing to worry about," he said calmly, sensing what she was thinking. "Sirius told me that the two of you would be staying with him which I think is an excellent idea under the present circumstances… Sirius has offered up one of his homes for the order of the Phoenix, he will be moving in there with you, but it truly is one of the safest places for anyone to be."

"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" she asked with a frown.

Dumbledore smiled "I'm glad you asked – it is an organization, a secret one, that works to bring down Voldemort."

Ara nodded

"If you're interested, I'd like for you to join us." He said simply and Ara knew that this was really what he wanted to talk to her about.

"to join the Order of the Phoenix? To fight against my uncle and my parents?"

"I know how hard this must be for you…"

"Do you?" Ara asked briefly, she wasn't trying to be rude, but she didn't think many people who fought with Dumbledore understood what it was like to turn on those you grew up with. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, remembering that Dumbledore had once been close to Grindelwald.

"I knew someone much like you," he said, looking at her intently. "She was a gifted witch, not quite as loved as you, but as feared. She was quite rebellious, didn't stand much for rules, had a few close friends who she'd do anything for." Ara wasn't sure where he was going with this "She was also despised by her family. She chose to fight for what was right. Do you know her name?"

Ara shook her head, she imagined there were more than one person like that, but the only other person she knew was Sirius.

"Leta Lestrange," Ara looked at him surprised. The idea of another Lestrange choosing the side of the light was absurd. The Lestranges were darker than even the Blacks.

"yes," Dumbledore said with a small smile "Leta would have been your great aunt of sorts."

"I've never heard of her," she said. It didn't come as much of a shock considering she didn't know much about the Lestranges at all.

"She died, during the war against Grindelwald… but if it wasn't for her, we may never have seen the end of that war."

Ara frowned "but it was you who defeated Grindelwald."

Dumbledore nodded, looking intently at her "I dueled Grindelwald and won, yes, but I'm not the only one who led to his downfall and I couldn't have done it without her. There were many people who had a greater impact during that war than I did, just as there were many people in the first war against Voldemort."

"She was a relative of my father? What did her family think of her?"

Dumbledore sighed "her father never wanted a daughter. Sons were always seen as the pride and glory, so she spent many years being mistreated… that is until her brother was born. Once her brother died her father simply ignored her, leaving her to be raised by his maid. He died not long after. She spent nearly every holiday at Hogwarts until her last year, when she stayed with her best friend. After school she got engaged and it wasn't long after that that the war started. She died saving her fiancé and the entire city of Paris.

"Ara I may have grown up with parents who liked me, but I do understand what you're going through, more than you could possibly know."

Ara sighed and nodded "so then you know why I'm hesitant about openly defying my family. It's one thing for me not to actively join the dark lord, but to pledge my allegiance against him… I just don't know headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded "All I ask is that you think about it."

Ara had a feeling that the conversation was coming to an end, but she hesitated in asking the one question she wanted an answer for.

"yes?" Dumbledore asked, knowing she was holding back.

"When you left Grindelwald… was it easy?

Dumbledore shook his head sadly "no, it was one of the hardest decisions I had to make…. But in the end, me choosing him over my family time and time again is what ended up killing my sister.

"Look, Ara I just want you to think about joining. If you choose to, we can keep it a complete secret, if you choose not to we will still do everything in our power to keep you and Draco safe."

Ara nodded, she knew she had made her choice when she saved Harry in the graveyard, she was just afraid of what would happen should she take Dumbledore's side completely. Then again, maybe Connor was right, maybe she didn't have to be completely black and white, maybe it wasn't one or the other.

"I'll think about it sir."

"Excellent," he said clapping his hands together and standing up. "now on another note, I may have a job possibility, should you be interested."

Ara looked at him in surprise, she hadn't realized he knew that she had no plans after school.

"sir?" she asked "I've received a couple of offers in England, but I haven't exactly made any decisions."

"Ah yes there were many people quite excited about you joining them… this job is different than your other offers… It's in America working with creatures."

Ara hesitated, any other time and she would have accepted the position in a heartbeat, but now she had Draco to think about, she couldn't just run off to America.

Dumbledore held up his hand as though knowing what she was thinking "It doesn't have to start right away… you and Draco can get settled, think about the offer."

Ara nodded "Thank you professor," she said softly.

"Of course… now I believe the train is getting ready to leave… It'd be best if you headed that way."

Ara gave him a small nod before leaving the office.

She met Draco in the entrance hall and the two of them headed towards Hogsmeade. Draco had been avoiding his classmates although they were still friendly with him, not realizing all that had happened and what role his cousin played. It didn't change how Draco had started feeling towards his lifelong friends. Ara could tell that at this moment he simply wanted to avoid everything that had to do with home, Ara wasn't sure if it was out of fear or something else.

They took their seats in an empty compartment near the back of the train, hoping that nobody would come back this far.

They both tensed when the door slid open, but released their breaths when it was Hermione came in. "Do you mind?" she asked gesturing to a seat next to Draco "The train filled up fast."

Ara shook her head "no, that's fine."

Draco made a small noise in the back of his throat but offered Hermione a small smile. Ron and Harry followed behind her, Harry sitting right next to her and Ron next to him.

There was an air of awkwardness that fell over the compartment. While Draco and Harry had been getting along, Ron was still bitter about their newest companion and did everything in his power to avoid him.

Ara rolled her eyes at the four of them, dutiful ignoring each other's gaze, and she turned her attention outside. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Ron's owl was hidden under Ron's dress robes to stop him from hooting continually; Harry's owl was dozing, her head under her wing, and Hermione's was curled up in a spare seat like a large, furry ginger cushion. After a while, Harry, Ron, and Hermione delved into conversation and talked more fully and freely than they ever had in the presence of Draco. Ara was pleased, it was clear they were starting to trust him. They talked about the feast and what Dumbledore had said. It seemed that Ron and Hermione had filled Harry in. They broke off their conversation about what action Dumbledore might be taking, even now, to stop Voldemort only when the lunch trolley arrived.

When Hermione returned from the trolley and put her money back into her schoolbag, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had been carrying in there. Ara glanced at it, unsure whether she really wanted to know what it might say, but Hermione, seeing her looking at it, said calmly, "There's nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but there's nothing at all. I've been checking every day. Just a small piece the day after the third task saying Harry won the tournament. They didn't even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me. Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet. "

"He'll never keep Rita quiet," said Harry. "Not on a story like this."

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," said Hermione in an oddly constrained voice. "As a matter of fact," she added, her voice now trembling slightly, "Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her. "

Ara frowned, she wasn't sure what the girl had over Rita. But it seemed that young Hermione may have been blackmailing her… Ara could feel pride swell up at the thought.

"What are you talking about?" said Ron.

"I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she wasn't supposed to be coming onto the grounds," said Hermione in a rush.

Ara had the impression that Hermione had been dying to tell Harry and Ron this for days, but that she had restrained herself in light of everything else that had happened.

"How was she doing it?" said Harry at once.

"How did you find out?" said Ron, staring at her.

"Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea. Harry," she said.

"Did I?" said Harry, perplexed. "How?"

"Bugging," said Hermione happily.

"But you said they didn't work -"

"Oh not electronic bugs," said Hermione. "No, you see. . . Rita Skeeter" - Hermione's voice trembled with quiet triumph - "is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn -"

Hermione pulled a small sealed glass jar out other bag.

"- into a beetle. "

"You're kidding," said Ron. "You haven't. . . she's not. . . "

"Oh yes she is," said Hermione happily, brandishing the jar at them.

Inside were a few twigs and leaves and one large, fat beetle.

"That's never - you're kidding -" Ron whispered, lifting the jar to his eyes.

"No, I'm not," said Hermione, beaming. "I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears. "

Ara looked and saw that she was quite right. She was shocked, not just because Skeeter had managed to become an unregistered Animagus, but that Hermione had managed to see her and catch her. She really was a brilliant witch.

"There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!"

"Exactly," said Hermione. "I'm sure there was a beetle on one of the bushes when Ara was with Charlie and unless I'm very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the windowsill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt. She's been buzzing around for stories all year. "

"Shit," Draco said, his eyes wide, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked at Harry apologetically "I saw Goyle talking to something in his hand." he said. "I thought he was just a bit crazy."

Hermione laughed and both Harry and Ron smiled.

"You don't think much of your friends do you?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged "they've never been the sharpest tools in the shed… It's all the inbreeding I'm sure…"

Ara laughed and nodded.

"He was talking to her, in his hand," said Hermione. "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid."

Hermione took the glass jar back from Ron and smiled at the beetle, which buzzed angrily against the glass.

"I've told her I'll let her out when we get back to London," said Hermione. "I've put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she can't transform. And I've told her she's to keep her quill to herself for a whole year. See if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people. "

Smiling serenely, Hermione placed the beetle back inside her schoolbag.

Ara sat in awe at the girl. She would have been tempted to step on the bug, but Hermione was devious in her own way. She could see why Viktor liked her.

The compartment door slid open and two more Weasley's stood at the entrance, looking over everyone in the compartment.

"Exploding snap anyone?" they asked, holding a deck of cards, clearly not caring that Ara and Draco were there.

They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them something.

"You going to tell us, then?" he said to George. "Who you were blackmailing?"

"Oh," said George darkly. "That. "

"It doesn't matter," said Fred, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway. "

"We've given up," said George, shrugging.

But Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept on asking, and finally, Fred said, "All right, all right, if you really want to know. . . it was Ludo Bagman. "

"Bagman?" said Harry sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in -"

"Nah," said George gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."

"Well, what, then?" said Ron.

Fred hesitated only glancing briefly at Ara and Draco, then said, "You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"

"Yeah," said Harry and Ron slowly.

"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots. "

"So?"

"So," said Fred impatiently, "it vanished, didn't it? By next morning, it had gone!"

"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" said Hermione.

George laughed very bitterly.

"Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us. "

"In the end, he turned pretty nasty," said Fred. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything. "

"So we asked for our money back," said George glowering.

"He didn't refuse!" gasped Hermione.

"Right in one," said Fred.

"But that was all your savings!" said Ron.

"Tell me about it," said George. "'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"

"How?" said Harry.

"He put a bet on you, mate," said Fred. "Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins. "

"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" said Harry. "Well - I did win, didn't I? they don't know that Ara got to the cup first, so he can pay you your gold!"

"Nope," said George, shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting you'd win outright. So, Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task. "

George sighed deeply and started dealing out the cards again.

The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough; while Ara was nervous about what the future would hold, she found herself happier with her decision. Draco had joined in the games and was laughing, he seemed to enjoy their presence. But as she had learned the hard way that year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon, the Hogwarts Express was pulling in at platform nine and three-quarters. Confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark.

Ron, Hermione, and Draco filed out of the compartment, the twins following.

"Fred - George - wait a moment. "

The twins turned. Harry glanced at Ara as he pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings. He sent her a questioning look. Ara nodded and smiled at the unspoken question.

"Take it," he said, and he thrust the sack into George's hands.

"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.

"Take it," Harry repeated firmly. "We don't want it. "

"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry.

"No, I'm not," said Harry. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop. "

"He is mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.

"Listen," said Ara firmly. "If you don't take it, we're throwing it down the drain. we don't want it and we don't need it. But we could do with a few laughs. I don't know either of you too well, but from what I've heard, you're hilarious and excellent inventors."

"We could all do with a few laughs." Harry said, "I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long. "

"Harry… Ara" said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here. "

"Yeah," said Harry, grinning. "Think how many Canary Creams that is. "

The twins stared at them, eyes glancing between each of them.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it. . . although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it..."

"Harry," Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you. "

The twins smiled and finally agreed. Harry and Ara followed them out of the compartment. Draco was waiting for her up by the front, standing next to James. Ara was surprised to see him, but she supposed he was probably there for Harry.

James pushed Harry forward, off the train and Ara briefly saw him greeted by the Weasleys and Lily. Ara made to follow, but was held back by James while the remaining students filed off the train.

"You need blend into the crowd, hang on tight to each other and make your way to the apparation zone." James said quietly in her ear.

Ara looked at him concerned.

"Lucius is here… just keep your head down."

"where do we apparate to?" she asked, grabbing Draco's arm, ready to leave before the crowd was gone.

"you tell me… I'll meet you there."

Ara sighed "Have you been to the Phoenix Theatre?" she asked.

"In London?"

Ara nodded.

"I have,"

"We'll meet there."

James nodded and Ara and Draco stepped off the train, blending in the crowd. She walked quickly and was glad to see Draco pull up his hood. He stood out like a sore thumb with his blonde hair. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her uncle looking over the crowd of people, searching for them. She was surprised to see that her aunt wasn't with him and worry stirred in her gut at the thought that she might be hurt. She couldn't worry about that now, she had to get Draco out.

"Stop!" she heard the shout from across the crowded room and glanced back to see Lucius coming towards them, trying to make his way quickly through the packed area. People were scrambling out of his way, seeing the anger on his face.

Ara grabbed Draco's hand and the two of them ran, pushing people out of their way as they went.

Lucius was gaining on them, but they were nearly there. When the crossed the border to the apparition point, Draco grabbed Ara's arm tightly, she spun on the spot and saw a look of anger on her Uncle's face as the two of them were squeezed through a tight tube, platform 9 ¾ disappearing from view.

Draco wavered slightly as they landed. Ara knew how much he hated that form of travel. She rubbed his back as he rested in hands on his knees taking big breaths. She imagined running from his father in addition to aparating overwhelmed him.

They walked around to the front of theatre, Ara had to remind herself that her uncle would never imagine them going to a muggle theatre so they didn't have to hide.

They heard a pop and turned quickly, exhaling in relief when James and Sirius appeared.

"Malfoy was not happy to see you two get away," Sirius said with a smirk.

Ara glanced at Draco who was wearing a grimace. "Did he say something?"

James nodded while Sirius said "he shouted for you, swore at people to leave…. Threatened to disembowel me if he found out I had anything to do with it."

Ara sighed "I'm sorry, maybe us staying with you isn't-"

"Stop it Ara," Sirius said, a smile still firmly on his face. "I can beat Lucius in a duel and his reach is not as far as mine… I'm already a target considering I openly oppose Voldemort."

"We all are," James added.

Ara nodded she knew that what they said was true, but she didn't want them to have to fight, not for her anyways.

"Let's get you two out of here," Sirius said, throwing an arm around Draco and guiding them away. "You look ridiculous."

Ara glanced at Draco, briefly confused, before she realized that they were wearing wizard clothes… near a muggle theatre. They were gathering odd stares from the people near them.

They walked down to a private area, Ara grabbed James' arm tightly, while Draco grabbed Sirius. In another moment they were sucked once more through the tight tunnel, landing in what seemed to be an empty field.

James handed Ara a piece of paper while Draco shook of the tight feeling in his chest.

_Potter Manor is located at 617 Lytes Lane. _

Ara smiled as the house appeared and handed the small piece of paper to Draco. It was a large home, roughly the size of Malfoy Manor, but couldn't be more different. It was homier, even on the outside.

It was an old house, one that had been lived in for many years. There was a stone walkway leading up to the house, on each side was a perfectly manicured lawn. Ara reached out and tuched one of the large bulbed bushes that lined the walkway. They were huge.

"Believe it or not, those were planted when James was a kid," Sirius said with a laugh. "he begged his mum for them."

James simply shrugged in response, not denying what Sirius said. Ara thought it was fitting for the Potter household, they seemed carefree, playful even.

The inside of the home was lovely as well and was even homier than the outside. Ara was surprised that they were able to make such a large manor so comfortable.

"We mostly live on the first floor… Sometimes when we have guests they will stay upstairs. Or when we have meetings, those will be upstairs," James said.

Ara smiled "not that I'm not happy to see your place, because it's lovely… but I was under the impression we'd be staying with Sirius," she said.

Sirius grimaced "yes the home we were going to stay at needs some… help. It's as safe as can be as it comes with an absurd number of enchantments, but I haven't lived there since I was sixteen and no one has lived there for nearly ten years. Until it's clean, I'll be staying here… I really didn't think you'd mind."

Ara looked surprised but glanced at Draco who shrugged. "I don't mind… I just don't want us to get in the way," she said looking more at James than Sirius.

James shook his head "not a bother, it'll be kind of nice, summers can get boring… Lily reads too much, and Harry spends too much time at the Weasley's," he said jokingly.

He led them towards the back of the house and down one of the large hallways, pointing to two doors directly across from each other. "I figured you'd want your rooms to be close to each other."

Ara smiled and opened the door to the left; it was a beautiful room and Ara was surprised to find it bigger than hers had been at Malfoy Manor. It was fully furnished with a large foursquare bed and a sitting area next to one of the large windows.

"Thank you," Ara said quietly. While she had been hesitant in accepting Sirius' offer, she was relieved to be sharing a home with people who could watch out for Draco. It was a safe haven of sorts. Ara was especially pleased that the offer came from the Potters, she had been so certain that they would hate her when the truth came out about Alaina.

"hello?" Lily shouted from down the hall. It seemed she and Harry had made it back from King's Cross. Ara sighed deeply and made her way back into the hall. She figured she'd be there for a while; she may as well get to know the Potters a bit better. She owed them that much for how she treated them throughout the year.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They had only been at the Potters for a couple days during which Ara found that she couldn't sleep. She woke each night with terrors, seeing Cedric's lifeless body, sometimes even Alaina's lifeless body lying before her. It was a similar night tonight, and it was because of that that Ara found herself in the Potter's kitchen, sitting in a chair next to their small table, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knee, a steaming cup of milk gripped tightly in her hand.

The door to the kitchen opened and Ara barely spared a glance, just enough to see Lily coming through a brief look of surprise flashed on her face.

"Can't sleep?" she asked softly, walking over to the coffee pot, waving her wand to brew a fresh pot.

Ara frowned and glanced towards the clock on the wall. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, it was 6:00am… She hadn't realized she'd been up for that long.

Lily sat across from her "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" she asked kindly. Ara was still amazed at just how nice the Potters could be, even after how rude Ara had been.

She shook her head.

Lily sighed "Harry's been having nightmares too," she said knowingly. "He talks to his dad about them… it helps him quite a bit, just describing the dreams."

Ara took a sip of the still steaming milk. She leaned back in the chair, still keeping her leg held up to her chest as though the cocoon would help her.

"It's nothing in particular… not really. Sometimes its Cedric, sometimes its Draco or Harry…" She didn't talk about Alaina. She didn't want to bring her up. She couldn't stand the thought of being at all related to her death.

"What you two went through, was horrible… and you were so close to Cedric, it's normal to think about it all… I read once that nightmares were ways of processing the challenging things that happen to us."

Ara shrugged "Well I wish I'd stop processing it… I think sleep would do me better."

Lily laughed and Ara offered a small smile.

"Can we talk about something else?" Ara asked quietly. "I just don't want to talk about it anymore, I'm tired of people asking if I'm alright and asking about my feelings… I just don't know what to think _or _feel."

Lily reached forward and grabbed Ara's free hand. "Of course," she said. "Why don't you tell me about Charlie… how are things going?"

Ara sighed; she didn't particularly want to talk about that either. He had written her, but it was odd only communicating through writing. "I don't know what's going on with us. He's in Romania… He wrote me and told me that his dragons were glad he was back, and that Kit said 'hello'."

"Who's Kit?"

Ara smiled "He's a Zmey of sorts, I think… truthfully I didn't ask him. I ran into him in the third task, he's part dragon."

Lily looked surprised "I didn't even realize those existed."

Ara shrugged "me neither, but it was kind of hard to deny when one was standing right in front of me."

"I'm sure Charlie would rather be here with you," Lily said after a moment.

Ara sighed "perhaps…. Frankly I'd rather just be there with him. Out of this bloody country."

Ara stared at the contents of her mug, the swirling white liquid with small steam rising from the top.

"Do you trust Severus?" Ara asked not looking up from her cup. It was one of her thoughts she'd recently been obsessing over.

"I do," Lily said softly after a short moment of silence. "Is there a reason you don't?" She asked after Ara didn't respond.

Ara shrugged "it's not that I don't trust him… he just _always _took my uncle's side… he always seemed to admire him or something…. It's just kind of hard to believe he actually works for Dumbledore."

Lily nodded "Well he used to be a Death Eater and many people still believe he is… even the Order that is reconvening doesn't know that he's truly on our side. Some don't even know he's a spy.

"Well I suppose one thing is certain, he's good at lying," she said with a bitter laugh.

Lily smiled at her sadly "he told me you used to call him 'uncle,' that you were really close."

Ara nodded "as shocking as it may be, considering how horrible he is to Harry, when I was young, he was always kind… My aunt loved me, but she was always so prim and proper that it could be a bit suffocating… When I went to Severus's it was like it didn't matter what I did or who I was… I always thought he would have made a great father… he used to read to me… something my aunt and uncle never did. There was one story that he'd read that he made me swear to never talk about to anyone,"

Lily simply looked at her, a small smile on her face, urging her to continue.

"Superman," she said with a wry grin. "I didn't realize at the time that it was a muggle story."

The smile slid off her face as she remembered the night, the night with Yaxley.

"My uncle wasn't kind…. He hated me and when I went to Severus's house, I felt different. I thought that he'd always be there, in a way I kind of thought of him as superman. Someone who I could turn to, someone who'd save me should anything truly horrible happen."

"What happened Ara?"

Ara shrugged, a small tear finding its way down her cheek. "superman died…." She hesitated, not sure if she could continue the story, it was something she'd never talked about. "It was a dinner party at Malfoy Manor there were a lot of old death eaters there, ministry officials, other important people so I was supposed to be on my best behavior. The party was dwindling down and Yaxley… got me alone."

She looked at Lily only to look away quickly, Lily had tears in her eyes as her hand covered her mouth.

"He didn't get too far… I panicked and well somehow managed to get his bottom jaw stuck back in his throat... he was lucky he survived."

"that's when you ran to Severus, and he sent you home," Lily said, clearly remembering the conversation in Snape's classroom.

Ara shrugged "he wasn't superman after that… All his stories were just that, stories. He became another adult I couldn't trust so I threw myself into training, decided no one would hurt me again… My aunt became kinder after that, she showed affection a little more… My uncle realized he couldn't push me around anymore," she shrugged.

"In a way I suppose it was good that it happened… I certainly wouldn't have been able to get Harry out of that graveyard had I not pushed myself magically… learned all I could."

Lily shook her head "while I'm glad you saved Harry… I wish you hadn't gone through that… Had Severus known, I'm sure he wouldn't have sent you away," she said quietly.

Ara shrugged and stayed silent. She didn't know what to think about him anymore. It was true that her ideal of Snape had gone away that night, she had grown cold and distant towards him. It was hard not to.

"what is it that you like to do for fun?" Lily asked, changing the subject when she realized Ara wouldn't want to discuss it anymore.

Ara frowned and wrinkled her nose "well I like quidditch," she said. "I also like creatures… you know reading about them, meeting them."

Lily simply smiled and waved her hand for Ara to continue.

"Um… I like…. Well hanging out with my friends I suppose," she said with a shrug.

They sat there talking for nearly another hour, getting to know each other a bit better. It turned out Lily had a sister who had always been jealous of her magical abilities and that her parents were ecstatic to have a witch in the family. Ara found herself admiring Lily even more, the more they talked.

The sun had risen, and Ara found herself no closer to sleep when the door opened once more and James walked in, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

He paused looking at the two of them before shrugging and heading to the coffee pot.

Ara glanced back at the clock on the wall and was surprised to find it was already eight. She sighed, going over her mental list of things to do. _1\. Decide on a job 2. Claim inheritance 3. Write to Charlie 4. Research how to become an Animagus._

She figured some of them could wait and that she needed to take her aunts advice, which meant going to the bank and claiming her inheritance. It had seemed urgent and while her parents were imprisoned, she didn't want a chance of them being able to name another heir, one that agreed more with Voldemort's ideals. That would mean Voldemort would have essentially an unlimited amount of money.

"I'm going to the bank," she said tiredly, rubbing her hand over her face.

Lily frowned glancing at the clock. She had stood up and moved over to where James was standing. "Shouldn't you try to get some sleep? You've been up all night."

Ara shrugged "I can sleep later; I need to claim my inheritance… don't want that to end up in V-Voldemort's hands."

Lily nodded and James offered a supportive smile "Do you want one of us to go with you?" he asked.

Ara shook her head "I'll be fine. I can slip in and out without being noticed," she said with a smirk.

An hour later, Ara found herself in the main entrance to the bank. She walked quickly towards the front, to a goblin she knew from the times she went to the bank with her uncle. She knew he didn't particularly like her uncle, he had been a bit too rude to him on too many occasions.

"Ragnok," she said, approaching his desk and bowing when she reached him.

"Miss Lestrange," he said, offering a small tilt of his head in response.

"I hope you're doing well and that your gold is abundant," she said politely.

"Thank you miss Lestrange, you as well. What can I help you with?"

"I need to claim my inheritance," she said quietly, looking around as though afraid someone would overhear and disapprove.

Ragnok gave her a pointed look but nodded his head and stepped away from the desk. "Please follow me." He led her to a small room off the main chamber, it held a desk and two chairs across from it. "I will get Ricbert. He will be able to assist."

Ara nodded gratefully and sat in one of the chairs, fidgeting her fingers nervously.

"Someone was just in here yesterday trying to revoke your inheritance." An older goblin with a white beard walked in and Ara recognized him, but she assumed it had been years since she'd seen him. She assumed this must be Ricbert.

"I assume that would have been my uncle?" She asked offering him a small bow as well.

"Lucius Malfoy, yes. He was of course unable to do so."

Ara nodded, while the thought crossed her mind, she didn't think he'd actually be able to take it.

"I have a wizard coming in who will help with the process," he said, sitting beside the desk.

Ara nodded. They sat in silence for only a couple minutes, Ricbert was shuffling through papers, Ara assumed it was information on herself.

The door opened and Ara had to hold back a groan. Another goblin entered, this one wearing medical clothing, but what bothered her most was that Bill was the wizard that followed.

He hesitated as he entered, it seemed he didn't know who he'd be helping either. He shook his head slightly before turning to Ricbert "How can I help sir?" he asked.

Ricbert held up his hand and gestured for the other goblin to do her work. She walked up to Ara and pulled back her sleeve, tapping a vial to Ara's skin. It burned hot before she watched the vial fill with dark red liquid.

The liquid then dropped on a piece of parchment and Ara watched as her name appeared at the top, a list of family members appearing below her, confirming her lineage.

"Miss Lestrange, I will have Bill here take you to your family vaults. He will explain your inheritance to you and help you get your family rings. All I need is a signature here" he said, pointing below the family tree where her name sat in print.

Ara signed the parchment and thanked Ricbert. She was surprised that had been such a quick process, she supposed it made sense. All they needed to do was prove that she was who she said she was, the inheritance was already hers.

She followed Bill out of the room and towards the carts that led to the vaults. He walked in silence and it was clear that he'd rather be doing anything but help her. She followed him into the cart and grabbed on tightly as it gave a lurch.

"Because you have a noble inheritance, you gain the title of Lady Lestrange," Bill said not looking at her. "Obviously you have access to your family accounts and at some point, you'll need to name an heir in case you're killed or something."

Ara snorted "Is that something you're hoping for?" He still didn't look at her, but she saw a slight shake in his head.

"Not particularly… My brother would be upset, and I'd have to take time off to keep him from doing something stupid." He said. "With your noble inheritance and your title, you also have a seat on the Wizengamot…. I'm sure your uncle told you about that."

Ara nodded, not that Bill could see given that his back was still towards her. She had grown up in politics, she knew the society well. She thought she probably knew it better than Bill did.

"Then I won't go into detail," he said, sitting back as they went further and further into the depths of the bank.

"Are the Potter's one of the noble families?" she asked.

Bill sighed "yes… they are, but they aren't one of the sacred twenty-eight."

Ara nodded, she remembered hearing something about that. Someone believed that while they were pureblood, there may have been some muggle or muggle born in their lineage.

"you're super talkative, aren't you?" she asked after they rode in silence for a bit longer.

Bill mumbled a response, running his hands through his hair, pulling strands out of the ponytail.

The cart slid to a halt and Ara hopped out after Bill. They both followed the goblin, walking past a large chained dragon. Ara sucked in a breath as she heard the clanging. It was clear these dragons had been inhumanely trained. She felt sick watching the magnificent beast shrink back, away from the sound.

She glanced at Bill and was glad to see the grimace on his face. It meant he disagreed with its treatment as well. He glanced back at her and for the first time Ara saw something other than contempt or annoyance directed towards her. It was softer, almost caring.

"I haven't told Charlie," he said leaning closer so she could hear him without drawing the attention of the other goblin. "He'd lose it and I'm not exactly in a position to get them to stop."

Ara nodded in an unspoken agreement not to tell him. While she hated the way it was treated, she couldn't exactly break it out. Plus, at this moment in time it was important that the bank was on her side, on everyone's side.

When they reached the vault, the goblin touched his hand to it and the door melted away and revealed a cave like opening, crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures — some with long spines, others with drooping wings — potions in jeweled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown. As she walked further in she could see small family heirlooms, ones that she had only heard about. She ran her hand across a necklace that she knew belonged to her great grandmother.

Bill reached forward and handed her a small envelope.

"There's a list of properties as well as people who have access to the account. There's also specific information regarding the enchantments used to protect everything in here…. The last few pieces of parchment are a list of everything in both your vaults, which includes everything from galleons to random boxes."

"Vaults? There are more than one," she asked, pulling out the paper inside the envelope, but not looking closely at it.

Bill nodded "You also have one in France."

Ara remembered her conversation with Fleur only a month ago… her family had originated in France, it would make sense that there would still be bits and pieces of them left behind.

"Am I able to take people off the list of people who have access to it?" she asked.

Bill nodded "you can take off and add whoever you'd like. Just let Ricbert know when you've decided."

He was no longer looking at her and Ara sighed, she supposed he'd been civil enough.

She glanced around the room once more, the stuff in there was truly magnificent. She had a sinking feeling as she realized some of what was in there may have been stolen, or at the very least earned in an unsavory way.

What caught her attention most wasn't a bright or shiny heirloom, it was a small box, sitting on a table. It looked out of place. She walked over to it and ran her hands over the finished top.

"What is this?" she asked looking quickly at Bill.

Bill shrugged with a look of indifference.

She opened the lid to the box and was surprised when what seemed to be a tree grew out from it, branching in every direction.

"It's your family tree," Bill said, a hint of awe in his voice. It was clear his earlier indifference had been forgotten.

The tree itself was amazing, filled with faces. "There's no women," she said after staring at it for a few moments.

Bill walked closer looking at the tree himself as though he didn't quite believe her.

It was indeed filled with men's faces, surrounded by flowers and branches.

"I've never seen one like this," Bill said.

Ara felt that she could spend hours looking at it but decided she'd rather do it in the comfort of her own room, somewhere where there wasn't a goblin watching her every move. She was surprised that she didn't so much mind Bill seeing it, although she supposed that was because she didn't actually dislike Bill, he only disliked her.

She put the top back on the small box and watched the brief flash of disappointment that crossed Bill's face. It seemed he was fascinated by the subject.

Ara rolled her eyes "you can see it later," she said, tucking it safely in her arms.

She took a small sack and filled it with galleons and sickles. She figured it would last her a Draco a while without them having to come back. She then followed the other two out of the vault. The goblin sealed it back up and it wasn't long before the three of them were on the cart back up to the top.

Bill walked Ara back towards the entrance of the bank, much to her surprise. She had expected him to ditch her as soon as they made it to the top.

"Did you move back here then?" she asked him, last she heard he was living in Egypt.

Bill nodded "The transfer was just made official… with everything that happened during the last task, I decided not to return to Egypt."

Ara nodded secretly wishing Charlie had made that decision as well… she knew it wouldn't be possible, there were no dragon sanctuaries in England.

He looked towards her quickly before looking away, seemingly deciding on something. "Where are you living?" he asked.

She glanced around "the Potters… for the time being."

Bill nodded "I guess I'll see you this weekend then." He said when they reached the front entrance.

Ara frowned "why's that?"

"we were invited over… there's some sort of picnic."

Ara frowned, she wondered if they did this often. Have people over, she supposed it wasn't too abnormal, they had people over all the time when she lived at Malfoy Manor.

"See you then," she said with one glance back at Bill who was looking at her with a curious expression. He nodded to her, before turning and heading back to work. Ara made her way out to the crowded Diagon alley, thinking it would be a good idea to get an owl.

* * *

Ara was grateful to Lily, it seemed she had a solution, other than dreamless sleep potion to get her to sleep. It was some sort of tea, but it did calm her and take away some of the nightmares. While she still struggled with sleep, she could at least get a few hours a night.

She spent the next couple of days playing quidditch with Draco, Harry, James, and Sirius. Much to her surprise, Draco and Harry were acting as though they had never been enemies. She couldn't help but smile at the carefree look on his face. One that was so rarely there when they were at home.

Saturday came and Ara found herself in the kitchen trying to help Lily, 'trying' being the key word.

"Is there a reason we're doing this by hand?" she asked as a glob of batter dropped from her spatula onto the counter.

Lily laughed "because this dish tastes better without magic," she said.

Ara rolled her eyes and shook her head. She seriously doubted that.

"Do you even know how to cook _with_magic?" Draco asked with a smirk.

Ara frowned before shaking her head. "I think I helped dobby make some sort of a stew once…"

Draco snorted "Even I made more than a stew."

"Yes well your father didn't beat you after watching you be friendly with the house elf."

There was an awkward silence that followed her statement and she wished she could take it back. She meant it jokingly, light hearted even, but Draco's smile fell from his face and he paused in the slicing of the strawberries. Lily simply stared at her, a look of concern in her eyes.

"Sorry," she said "it was no big deal honestly."

Neither of the others responded although they both looked like they disagreed.

Ara went back to mixing the batter, ignoring the infrequent looks of sympathy the other two sent her way.

It wasn't much later that Draco had gone out to the large garden in their back yard and helped James and Harry set everything up. Lily had told Ara she didn't have to do anymore, Ara figured that was because she had done a horrible job and not because Lily was being nice. Instead Ara stayed chatting with her, she greatly enjoyed her company.

There was a small chime heard throughout the house and while Lily smiled, Ara tensed up. She couldn't help but worry. While she knew everything would be fine, she also knew she'd be seeing some people who weren't too fond of her. She wished Charlie would be there, he'd at least help her feel like she belonged.

Lily left to open the door and Ara headed to the back yard where the others were. She figured she could at least stay occupied with Draco and Harry.

She couldn't help the fond smile that formed at the sight of them. Harry and Draco were laughing at James who was doing some sort of trick with his wand. Living here had truly done wonders for Draco, and it had only been a week. He seemed much more lighthearted, as though he's had a taste of what a carefree life would look like. One where he doesn't have to act or be something he isn't.

A drink floated in front of her, it was in a short glass and was a blue slushy drink. She looked around and saw Sirius holding a similar one, walking towards her with his wand out.

"It's called a blue frosty… It's some sort of muggle drink Lily showed me."

Ara sipped it and was startled at how good it tasted. It was some sort of cocktail.

"Never thought something so blue could taste so good," she said with a smirk.

Sirius nodded and smirked "and it'll get you shit faced quickly."

"Thank merlin," she whispered under her voice.

Sirius sighed and nudged her with his elbow, "they'll all like you."

Ara shook her head "I highly doubt Molly will like me much… and I already know Bill hates me."

Sirius frowned "what makes you say that?"

"He helped me at the bank… pretty much ignored me unless it was necessary to talk."

Sirius shrugged "want me to beat him up?"

She snorted "yes please."

He smiled and flung his arm around her, pulling her close and kissing the side of her head.

It didn't take long before the back yard was filled with people. Sirius had gone and said 'hello' to the Weasleys before engaging in an animated discussion with Lupin. Lily was talking with Molly and Harry was talking with Ron and the twins. Ara was already on her second drink, standing off to the side, choosing instead to watch.

"Is this what you usually do on gatherings Lestrange?" came the taut voice of Bill Weasley. "Do you drink and ignore people?"

Ara looked his way and smirked when she saw he himself was getting a drink.

"Probably not much different than you."

Bill wore a closed mouth smile and raised his glass in agreement. "I haven't been to these events in a while… probably a few years."

"hm… too good for the small family gatherings?

Bill rolled his eyes "of course not… I lived in Egypt."

Ara nodded.

"So what was it that made the two oldest Weasley children move so far away after school?"

Bill frowned and shrugged "what was it that made you want to leave?"

"I wanted to get away from my family…. Don't know that I'd feel the same if I had a family like yours."

Bill grimaced "that's not why I left… well I guess." He seemed to struggle with what to say and Ara wondered if there was more to the perfect family, something no one noticed. "It's not that I didn't love my family or that they didn't treat us well…. But when you grow up poor and with a million siblings, I guess part of you itches to get away from that, to find adventure… _alone._" He laughed at how absurd it sounded.

"That makes sense," Ara said reassuringly. "but now your back." She knew he was back because of what happened during the final task, but part of her wondered what that really had to do with him.

Bill sighed once more and poured himself another drink. "Ron is best friends with Harry and my parents are so close with the Potters…. I know they'll end up on you-know-who's hit list and well… considering what they've already been through with Ginny, I want to be there for it."

Ara frowned, she didn't know what had happened with Ginny, but she thought better than to ask.

"That's why you didn't leave England, right?" Bill asked.

Ara nodded "I couldn't leave Draco at my Uncle's mercy… he would have been recruited and he doesn't have the heart to do what they would want him to do…"

Bill nodded, swirling his drink in his glass, staring at it with a frown.

"I'm kind of surprised you're talking to me," she said honestly, staring at him intently.

"Me too," Bill said.

"It's probably because I'm so charming," she said jokingly.

Bill snorted "you're about as charming as a dead slug."

Ara gave him a knowing smile; she knew he was fond of her and it helped ease the nerves in her gut. Most of Charlie's family may not like her, but Bill was his best friend. She felt that if she could win him over, she could win any of them over.

"Why are you looking at me like that Lestrange?"

"you love me… there's no point in denying it."

"I hate you," he said flatly.

Ara shook her head walking towards him and hugging him around his middle "it's okay, I won't tell anyone."

"there's nothing to tell, I hate you." He said, although he gave her a small squeeze back, showing he clearly didn't hate her.

Ara pulled away and made to refill her drink. Bill was called away by one of his siblings and Ara returned to looking at the crowd. There were many more people there then there had been and most of them, Ara didn't know. She recognized one man as a ministry Auror but wasn't sure who he was.

"Wotcher," the woman who approached her was pretty, she was slightly taller than Ara herself and looked to be the same age. She had bright pink hair and nearly tripped as she reached for a drink. "sorry, I'm a bit clumsy…. I haven't seen you around here before," she said with a large smile.

Ara smiled, the girl was certainly outgoing.

"Sorry, the name's Tonks," she said brightly, putting her hand out confidently for Ara to shake.

"It's a pleasure," Ara said grasping her hand. "I just met the Potters this last year," she said simply.

"Yeah? Are you a student of theirs?" she asked.

Ara figured she must not be her age, she must've been older considering she had no idea who she was.

"um, no I wasn't one of their students."

"Sorry," Tonks said with a shrug "I just know they're at school all year and you seemed a bit young to be a teacher… you know you never said your name," she said bubbly.

"I'm not a teacher," Ara said with a grimace. While she didn't particularly want this girl to run the other direction screaming, she knew everyone there would know her name eventually. "I was a Durmstrang student… My name's Ara… Lestrange."

Tonks's reaction wasn't one that she had expected. Rather than grimace and get quiet, possibly even make an excuse to leave, her smile got wider, and she grabbed Ara's shoulder's excitedly. "Why didn't you say something?" She nearly shouted.

"Sorry?"

Tonks rolled her eyes and flung one arm around her shoulders "I've heard about you, but didn't realize you'd be here…"

Ara tensed still staring at the girl in bewilderment.

"I don't think the Potters have told many people I'm living here…"

Tonks simply stared at her, giving her a large grin. "I didn't realize you were living with the Potters… Mum offered to have you live with her and dad, but Sirius had said you'd be more comfortable with him."

"I'm sorry," Ara was truly confused now "who's your mum?"

"Oh, sorry, I suppose I didn't mention and my name would mean nothing to you… but we're family," she said brightly.

"Oh," Ara said, Tonks had pulled her arm off of Ara and instead grabbed her hand, dragging her across the garden.

She stopped in her tracks and instantly at the sight of the women. She tensed up as he gut twisted into knots.

"what's the problem?" Tonks said turning to Ara with concern in her eyes.

It was then that Ara realized the differences in appearance, while the woman resembled her mother, there were also many differences. Her eyes caught her off guard, she had laugh lines surrounding them and they were warm, happy even. It was something she had never seen in her mother.

The woman made eye contact with Ara and smiled largely, and Ara wondered if her mother would have been this beautiful had she been more care-free.

"Ara," she said, her voice was raspy as though she were getting over a cold.

"This is my mum… Andromeda Tonks," Tonks said letting go of Ara's hand.

Ara raised her eyebrows in surprise "Andromeda… like Aunt Andy? "

Her smile grew "well I'm glad to see my sisters didn't make it seem like I didn't exist entirely…"

Ara frowned and shook her head "no, Aunt Cissa told me about you."

"Anything good?" she asked.

Ara avoided her gaze "she said you ran off and got married… that you left her behind."

A look of surprise came over Andromeda's face. It seemed she had expected something worse.

"For the most part she spoke highly of you… at least when she told us about when you were children."

"She thinks I left her?"

Ara shrugged "I honestly don't know… Aunt Cissa… She avoids talking about her family."

Andy looked contemplative, running over what Ara said through her head. Ara knew her aunt was truly a good person, she just got caught in a horrible family.

"So anyways," Tonks said "we're cousins and now you know why I was so excited to meet you. I don't have cousins you see, unless you count my dad's nieces and nephews, but they're muggles so we don't see them much."

Ara smiled kindly at her, Tonks sure could talk, but Ara found her joy refreshing.

"Ara this is my husband Ted," Andy said, gesturing to a man behind her. He had a kind face and a round belly, much different than her own father and her uncle.

"it's a pleasure," she said reaching out her hand and shaking his. "So, your last name is Tonks?" she asked, looking at Tonks.

Tonks tensed and rolled her eyes in the direction of her mother.

"I'm afraid my daughter prefers to go by her last name." Andy said sending Tonks an exasperated look. "Her name is Nymphadora."

Tonks groaned "if you must call me by a first name, please call me Dora," She said.

Ara laughed "I'll call you whatever you want."

She glanced around and saw Draco standing only a few feet away talking to the twins. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her. He stumbled over his feet "Yes?" he asked after ramming into Ara.

"This is Draco," she said to the other three. If possible, their smiles grew even larger. "Draco this is Aunt Andy and Uncle Ted… and Tonks," she said gesturing at each in turn.

"your mum's sister?" Draco asked Andy surprised. She nodded and shook his hand.

"I didn't know you were friends with the Potters… no wonder you were burned off the family tree."

Ara slapped her forehead with her hand. It was no wonder Draco had made so many enemies in his years at Hogwarts. He had absolutely no tact.

Andy scoffed "well it was my marriage to Ted that got me burned off the tree…"

"oh," Draco said, "Is he a muggle?"

Andy shook her head "muggle born."

"ah," he said looking as though it made sense. "seems like a dumb reason to burn someone off a tree," he said with a shrug.

Ara was surprised, while she knew Draco was coming around, she thought he had always been a bit prejudiced against muggleborns. Then again, he had been spending more time with Hermione, maybe he was growing fonder of them.

"then again I suppose Sirius was burned off the tree for refusing to join you-know-who…."

Ara shrugged, they both seemed like bad reasons to disown someone.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Andy said, glancing at the others around her. Ara and Draco nodded and followed Andy and Tonks while Ted was pulled in a different direction.

"Congratulations on the tournament," Andy said, walking the rose garden, leading her to a bench in the center. "You faced some truly horrifying creatures."

Ara smiled and shrugged "The creatures weren't all that bad… Dragons are simply misunderstood."

"And you went to Durmstrang?" she asked Ara.

Ara nodded "I'd rather have gone to Hogwarts… Although I did like being countries away from my uncle."

Andy nodded; she was gazing Ara intently as though studying her.

"how about you Draco? What house were you in?"

"Slytherin," he said somewhat hesitantly.

"Eh," Tonks said wrinkling her nose, jumping away as her mother attempted to hit her.

"I was in Slytherin as well," Andy said reassuringly.

"I'm sure I would have been as well had I been at Hogwarts," said Ara.

The four of them sat on two benches. Andy pulled Ara next to her while Tonks and Draco sat across from them.

"I was glad when I was told that you both… left."

Ara smiled sadly "we couldn't stay there."

Andy nodded, "I felt the same… I was just a couple years older than you when I left my family."

"I don't think it was ever really a choice… well not for Ara anyways," Draco said. "Sure, I could have stayed and taken the dark mark early, but they would have used us… both of us."

Ara looked at him intently, it wasn't often that he talked about leaving home.

"Are you happy here?" Tonks asked, glancing between the two.

They both nodded and Draco smiled largely "If you would have asked me last year if I'd enjoy living with the Potters I would have said you were mad… I just wish mum could be here," he glanced down at his hands.

It was Ara's concern too. Somewhere in the back of her mind was the constant worry for her aunt, the only death eater she truly cared for.

Andy reached over and grabbed her hand "I know it was hard leaving the life you've always known… but things will be better here. I'm so glad I'll get to know my niece and nephew. I never dreamed I'd be able to meet you again."

Ara smiled sadly before her mouth slipped into a frown. "You've met us before?"

Andy's smile dropped as well turning into more of a grimace. "yes, well just you Ara…. After your parents were arrested and sentenced to Azkaban... well I fought for custody of you."

"you wanted me to live with you?"

Both Draco and Ara wore similar looks of shock. Shock at the idea that Ara may have grown up completely differently.

Andy nodded "I did… Unfortunately, the courts believed that you should grow up with someone you knew… You knew Narcissa and you didn't know me."

Ara sighed at the thought of what her life may have been like had she grown up with a different aunt. She never would have been sent away, it was unlikely she would have received the same punishments, she never would have had to learn how to duel at the age of thirteen. _No_she thought. No matter how much she would have loved it, she wouldn't trade her life for anything. She had Draco and she was strong. Everything she went through only shaped her into who she was today, no matter how horrible.

Draco was fidgeting uncomfortably with the hem and Ara knew what he was thinking.

"As lovely as that would have been… I am glad I grew up where I did."

Andy nodded in understanding before staring intently at her daughter. She huffed and gestured towards her daughter's short hair, "must you wear it like this?"

"I like it mum," she said with a small blush. They seemed to get into some sort of a staring contest for after a moment Tonks rolled her eyes and her hair changed from short pink to shoulder-length brown hair. "Happy?"

Andy nodded in agreement.

"Wow," Draco said, "you're a metamophamagus."

"I am," she said confidently changing her nose from normal to a pig nose. Draco and Ara laughed.

"Come along dear cousins, let's leave the old person to talk with her friends."

Draco snorted and the two of them allowed themselves to be dragged away. From a distance Ara watched Andy find Ted engage in conversation. Tonks grabbed two drinks and gave one to Ara before handing Draco a lemonade. She glanced at her parents before changing her hair back to the bright pink.

Ara smiled, she thought it was far more fitting.

"So…" Tonks hesitated, sipping her drink while looking at Ara. She seemed to be torn.

"What is it?" Ara asked hesitantly.

Tonks sighed "well…. I'm really just curious…."

"yes?"

"Are you dating Charlie Weasley?"

Ara looked surprised, that hadn't been what she had expected. "erm… I don't know…"

Tonks snorted "how do you not know if you're dating someone?"

"well it's complicated… we were together and then we weren't, and I guess we haven't really decided what we are." She frowned "you know Charlie?"

Tonks nodded "we were in the same year at Hogwarts, good friends too. He's actually one of the few people I've kept in contact with since we graduated."

Ara nodded and she felt shame at the brief rush of jealousy that slipped in the pit of her stomach. She knew Charlie didn't like Tonks. But it didn't mean she didn't wonder if he had ever liked her.

Tonks rolled her eyes as though reading Ara's mind. "I'm into older guys and Charlie is younger than me by a whole two months."

Ara blushed. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually the jealous type."

Tonks shrugged "wouldn't matter to me even if you were… we're family, right? We're supposed to have each other's backs?"

Ara and Draco glanced at each other before nodding. They seemed to fit well with the Tonks'. It felt like they had known each their whole lives.

Most of the guests had left and Ara returned to her room to get away from it all. To get some space. While the day had been good overall, she still got the cold shoulder from Mrs. Weasley as well as some of the other guests she hadn't met.

She ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the ends. Her mind was busy as she thought about her aunt, the one she had never known, the one she could have had a life with, a very different life where maybe people didn't jump at the sight of her or run in fright.

She paced her room, uncertain of what to do, what to think. She felt restless like she needed to be doing something but didn't know what to do. She glanced at the drawers of her temporary dresser and walked over to it, pulling open the top drawer. She pulled out the small black box and set it on the floor, kneeling beside it. She'd been busy over the last couple days and hadn't really had time to look at it.

She rubbed her hands nervously on her thighs. She couldn't quite explain the knots in her stomach at the thought of looking at her family tree.

She opened the box and watched in awe at the branches twisting and growing, revealing everyone in her family. Most names she didn't recognize although there were many repeat names such as her great great great grandfather Radolphus. There were also many names that were clearly French, reminding her of what Fleur had said.

She finally found her father, Rodolphus, and her Uncle Rabastian. There was a flower surrounding her father's name, but not her uncles, she wondered if that was her mother's flower, if all the women were represented by flowers. She frowned when she saw the single branch stemming from her fathers. The only thing on the lone branch was a wilted flower, one that looked like it had been dead for a while. She looked closer and off to the side there was another flower, healthy and alive, but completely detached from everything around it.

Her frown deepened as she questioned what she had initially thought. Maybe the flowers weren't women at all, maybe women weren't represented on this family tree. There was a small niggling at the back of her mind that told her that wasn't true. But what would that mean? Would that mean that she had had a sister? And perhaps more importantly, where was her flower? Was she floating unattached?

She shook her head of the thoughts, maybe the magic on the family tree was wearing off.

There was a wrap on the door and Ara closed the box quickly as the door creaked open. Draco stood there smiling at her, his face turning to a look of confusion at the sight of her and the box on the ground.

"what's that?"

Ara shrugged "It's nothing."

He didn't look convinced but didn't push for more information.

"Everyone else is gone and we were going to play some sort of muggle game… Want to join?"

Ara hesitated, looking at the box once more. It wouldn't be good to dwell on it, not until she met someone who could help her figure it out. "Alright," she said quietly, grabbing the box and jumping up to her feet. She put it in the top drawer of her dresser, whispering a small spell to lock the drawer before following Draco downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Ara –_

_ Happy Birthday. I'm sorry I can't be there today, I'm glad that you had fun last weekend at the Potter's picnic. They used to have them all the time when we were younger. I'm surprised you didn't play Quidditch. With you and Draco there, I'm sure there were plenty of people for a pick-up game. _

_ And yes, I know Tonks. We were friends at Hogwarts, got into plenty of trouble together. She's always been hilarious and her knack at changing appearance made getting out of trouble fairly easy. Although I think Dumbledore always knew and just never said anything. Don't tell her I said anything, but I'm pretty sure she has a thing for one of James' friends. _

_ The dragons are good. I'm pretty sure Lady, the beautiful Chinese fireball you faced, would love to see you again. Kit's also mentioned you a couple of times, asked how you were doing. He's flat out told me he'd like to see you, of course not in too many words, he's pretty hard to understand. It was more like "girl come." What was it he said to you during the tournament? He seems very interested in you. Clearly you'll just need to plan a trip to come to Romania. _

_ Sorry Bill is giving you a hard time. I swear he loves you, but he's still in denial. He'll come around and I'm sure you two will be great friends. _

_I hope you have an amazing birthday; I'll see you soon. _

_Charlie_

The letter that had once been folded was nearly flat by this point from all the times Ara had read it and smoothed it out. It had only been a few weeks, but she missed him greatly. She wasn't sure how she had managed during the few months they had been separated, although thinking back, she wasn't sure she had managed all that well at all.

She looked at the clock, it was nearly noon and she hadn't left her room yet. She sighed pacing her room once more, her feet following their familiar path. If there was one thing that her aunt and uncle always cared about, it was birthdays. She supposed it was probably her aunt who influenced her uncle into throwing extravagant parties for herself and Draco. Part of her was glad to be away from that. She was glad she wouldn't have to plaster on a smile and entertain people who she really didn't care for. Although she felt bad that Draco had missed his party for the year. His usually occurred when they got back from school. She was relieved that she and some of the other Slytherins had thrown him a party at least.

She ran her hands through her wavy hair before throwing on some sweats and a t-shirt and making her way down the stairs. It was quiet in the house, she wondered if they had all left to do something. She shook her head; they wouldn't have taken Draco without telling her.

She opened the door to the kitchen, hoping Lily had made some coffee and was surprised to see that it wasn't empty.

"Hello," she said softly, making her way over to the coffee pot.

"Ara," Lupin said with a bright smile. While Ara never saw too much of him, she thought he looked haggard.

She sat across from him and stared at him intently.

"Is everything alright?" He asked with an amused look on his face.

"Yes… I just don't know you all that well… you're awfully quiet."

He snorted "Hardly… James and Sirius say I never shut up," he said with a shrug.

Ara simply smiled in response. Lupin was a mystery to her. He was one that her uncle never mentioned; she hadn't even known he existed until she'd met him.

"How are you enjoying your break so far?" he asked kindly.

Ara shrugged "it's alright I suppose… it's not really a break though, I feel like I ought to be working or something now that my school life is over."

Lupin laughed "don't rush it… you have the rest of your life to work, but this may be the last chance you get to just relax, worry free."

Ara smiled but shook her head.

"I suppose it's not exactly worry free though is it?" he asked.

Ara shook her head "how can it be? V-Voldemort is back, and Draco and I are basically in hiding." She sighed; she didn't want to think so negatively. "I suppose it is nice being here though," she said, gesturing to the house around her. "I don't have to pretend to be anything I'm not… and I don't have to act like I have a stick up my butt."

Lupin snorted "thank goodness for that."

They fell into a brief silence, Ara still staring at the man intently. He had scars, a bunch of them. She'd never really noticed them before, but she supposed he's always had them. Although there seemed to be a couple on his neck and face that looked new, fresher.

"So you're a tutor of sorts at Hogwarts right?" she asked.

Lupin nodded "When Harry was young, I used to homeschool him. Lily and James didn't want him going to a muggle school or leaving Hogwarts at all really, so I taught him and after a while there were a few other students who joined that group. When they all got into school, Dumbledore wanted to keep me on, so he created the Tutoring position for me."

"wow… So at one point Hogwarts had a sort of day care grade school type of thing?" she said with a small smile at the picture of it. She didn't think it was a bad idea at all.

Lupin nodded.

"Did you prefer that? Or your current job?"

He shrugged "probably working with the younger kids… I'm rather good with children and quite a few students don't think they need a tutor… unless they're preparing for OWLs or NEWTs of course."

Ara nodded "well I think they're both very valuable jobs… I can't tell you how many times I had an incompetent professor…" she smirked before coughing 'karkaroff' behind her hand. "I really could have used a tutor… but alas, I'll never be good at potions because of it."

Lupin laughed "well I wish you would have been at Hogwarts then… although you'd probably be decent at potions had Snape been your professor."

Ara grimaced; she hadn't talked with the man much since the incident in his classroom although he had reached out to her a handful of times. She had already told Lily about what happened, she didn't want to relive that. She was grateful Lily had kept it all to herself.

"I don't know about that," she said quietly. "I hear he fails students because they look at him the wrong way."

Lupin looked intently at her "I think he only does that with Gryffindors who he doesn't like," he said.

Ara shrugged "well he's not my biggest fan."

Lupin shrugged "his loss."

Ara smiled at the man; he really was a truly kind man. She wondered why he wasn't around more often.

"What is it that you want to do for work?" he asked her.

She sighed, her mind drifting to Charlie and his dragons. "I want to work with creatures," she said softly.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise "what kind of work?"

Ara shrugged "I don't know exactly, help them, I guess. Keep them safe."

"So, you like creatures then?"

Ara nodded "what's not to like? They're fascinating and they're all so unique and so misunderstood." She said passionately.

Lupin hesitated, he seemed to be trying to read her and Ara briefly wondered if he was a ligilimens… If he was a natural born one, she wouldn't feel him enter her mind.

"How are they misunderstood?"

Ara shrugged "people are terrified of what they don't understand, and they don't understand most creatures… Like dragons, they're giant and terrifying, sure. But they're also highly intelligent and fiercely protective. They're also truly loving creatures, much like dogs… only with scales and fire and stuff…"

Lupin laughed "yes I suppose I didn't know that about them… How about the creatures that are horrible?"

Ara sighed "I don't know that any creature is truly horrible… I mean there are Dementors and sure they dark creatures, but they've helped guard Azkaban… then there was that sea creature in the bottom of the black lake that I ran into, but we don't really know anything about it. It may have only attacked me because it felt threatened which isn't really it's fault, I was a foreign object in the water…."

Lupin nodded "how about creatures like werewolves?"

Ara snorted and shook her head "now if you want to talk about a misunderstood creature, you talk about a werewolf."

He gave her a relieved look and Ara briefly wondered what it meant. She remembered Harry saying that he knew a werewolf and wondered if perhaps Lupin knew one as well.

"Don't get me wrong, Werewolves are scary and all and they are technically dark creatures… but you've got a human who loses control once a month… the majority of werewolves wish they didn't transform, and most don't want to hurt anyone. I think that really, if wolfsbane was more readily available, it would cut down on werewolf attacks greatly. That or people could just stay in and lock their doors on the full moon," she said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "there are of course those werewolves that are evil, but it isn't the werewolf itself, it's the person. Like for example, my uncle has a 'friend,'" she said, emphasizing the air quotes for she knew her uncle saw him as nothing more than dirt on his show that could do a bit of his dirty work "he's a werewolf and a truly evil one. He intentionally places himself near others on the full moon in hopes of turning them… But he's evil as a person as well, I'm pretty sure he's a pedophile who likes young boys and I think if he didn't transform every month, he'd probably just be a normal serial killer who enjoyed using knives or something," she said with a shrug. "It's the same with vampires…"

She trailed off, she'd been talking a lot and she knew it. She was just passionate about the subject.

"sorry," she said when Lupin didn't say anything.

"don't be," he said kindly, his smile large. "I completely agree with you, I'm just surprised."

Ara scoffed "because my family is known for looking down on werewolves?" she asked.

Lupin looked guilty "they're often referred to as filthy half breeds by a lot of purebloods."

Ara nodded; she'd heard the term plenty. "I'm not like them." She said plainly.

"No, you're not… and I'm sorry I thought you could be."

Ara was surprised by the apology and the admission. She knew that a lot of people compared her to her family. Many people avoided her because of the reputation her family had. Many people expected things from her, because of her family. It was nice to hear that someone felt bad for clumping her together with them.

"No worries," she said.

The door to the kitchen swung open and Sirius walked in. he was wearing his nice dress robes and had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Morning," he said brightly. "James and Lily are on their way back… thanks for coming Moony," he said.

Ara frowned at the name… _moony_. "Is that some sort of a nickname?" she asked looking between the two. Lupin looked nervous. Ara frowned at the sudden change in the man. She looked back at Sirius who looked apologetic.

Ara stared at Lupin… _moony…_She stared once more at the fresh scars creeping up his neck. "bloody, hell," she said after a moment. She couldn't believe she didn't realize it sooner. Harry was protective of whatever werewolf he had known. Lupin cared about her opinion of werewolves and was relieved when he'd learned her views. His nickname was _moony…. "_You're a werewolf!" she said quietly.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up his forehead while Lupin dropped his head onto the table.

"You ought to be a detective Ara," Lupin said dryly lifting his head off the table and staring at her with a pained expression.

Ara smiled "I won't tell anyone," she said, thrilled that she had discovered his secret, rather quickly too. "but it makes sense."

"you figured it out from one nickname? Many people have heard that name and _never _figured it out," Sirius said plopping down next to the two of them.

Ara shrugged "it wasn't just the nickname… but we were just talking about werewolves… plus Harry and I talked about them once and he got super defensive, said he knew one. Who else would he be defensive with except for someone he was close to? Someone like an uncle? Plus there were the scars, some of them look fresh… and it explains why Dumbledore created a job for you."

Lupin nodded giving her a wry look "yes unfortunately I have trouble holding down jobs with my condition… working for Dumbledore, I can disappear once a month and no one bats an eye."

Ara smiled at the man "I'm sorry," she said kindly. "I can't imagine how rough it must be."

Lupin shrugged "I think you understand more than most how much a stereotype can affect you," he said.

Ara nodded; she did understand that.

"Since you know… the werewolf you were talking about… was it Fenrir Greyback?" he asked.

Ara looked at him surprised but nodded "yes he was in the outer ranks when Voldemort was in power the first time around… it's how they met."

Lupin nodded "he's the werewolf who bit me," he said tensely.

Ara looked at him surprised. She knew Greyback had attacked a lot of people, but she'd never actually met any of them.

"You said he was a pedophile?" Lupin asked.

Ara shrugged "I don't know for sure… If it makes you feel any better, I did attack him once," she said. Both Sirius and Lupin looked at her curiously, so she continued "he looked at Draco like he wanted something from him… it was like a mixture of lust and something else," she said, disgust filled her voice. "So, I stabbed him in the leg with a silver knife."

It was unfortunate that Sirius had chosen that moment to take a drink of his tea, for he spewed it out across the table, spraying both Ara and Lupin who jumped back.

"What?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

Ara shrugged "I had snuck this book by some muggle author and read about werewolves… well most of it was a load of rubbish, but it did say that a werewolf could only be killed by a silver bullet… I didn't know what a bullet was, but I did have a pure silver knife… so I thought I'd give it a shot."

Both of them wore similar looks of confusion riddled with appreciation.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said, "what did you aunt and uncle think?"

Ara shrugged "my aunt was embarrassed, but my uncle wasn't too upset… he just thought I didn't like werewolves." She smiled at the two of them "I didn't have a problem with werewolves, I just didn't like him… I swear had he not wanted to stay on Uncle Lucius's good side, he would have bit Draco."

Lupin grimaced and shot her a sympathetic look. "well thank you… I know it wasn't for me, but I'm glad to hear he's experienced at least some pain."

Ara shrugged "he deserved it."

The kitchen door opened once more, and James and Lily came through.

"Good morning Ara," Lily said brightly.

"Morning," she said with a small smile.

"I should probably get going," Lupin said, standing up and pushing the chair in.

"You could stay for lunch," James said.

"yeah no need to rush off," Sirius said.

Lupin shook his head "believe it or not I have lunch plans."

Sirius waggled his eyebrows "who's the lucky lady?"

"Not a lady," he said, shaking his head. Ara figured they had this conversation often.

"Oh sorry… Man" James said with a smirk, also waggling his eyebrows.

Lupin grabbed the orange that was sitting in a basket on the table and threw it at James. It traveled fast and hit him surprisingly hard in the chest. James rubbed his chest but laughed.

"He's some potions expert," Lupin said with a shrug. It was clear that that meant something and the other three knew what it meant. Ara didn't want to pry, she figured she had learned enough about Lupin for one day.

"Good luck mate," James said. "Come over tomorrow for dinner, we'll talk about it after."

Lupin nodded in agreement, slapping James on the back. He gave Lily a kiss on the cheek before waving goodbye to the others.

"So where did you lot run off to so early in the morning?" Ara asked.

"We had an order meeting," Sirius said, grabbing the Daily Prophet and flipping it open.

"Oh," Ara said remembering that she still needed to talk to Dumbledore about what she wanted to do.

"Have you seen Harry and Draco?" Lily asked.

Ara shook her head "Draco's probably sleeping."

"Harry's probably in the library… He's been spending an ungodly amount of time in there." James said.

Lily rolled her eyes "I think it's good for him."

"Love, do you even know what he's researching?" James asked.

Lily shook her head "Does it really matter? He's clearly showing passion about something."

James and Sirius shared and knowing look, one that Lily clearly missed.

Lily started making lunch, while Sirius and James talked about the paper together. It seemed that they were now spreading lies about Harry and the Tournament. Saying that he was looking for attention when he claimed that Voldemort was back. Ara was surprised it hadn't sucked her into it. There was nothing on her or her family, it seemed her uncle was trying to keep something quiet.

It wasn't long before Draco joined them at the table. He had indeed slept in late, but she knew that wasn't unusual for the summer holiday. He sat beside Ara and rested his head on his hand, clearly still barely awake.

Ara nudged him "late night?"

Draco shrugged "I got caught up watching that tv thing."

"I remember when we discovered the television," Sirius said with a fond smile.

"we sat in front of it for several days… only got up to use the restroom and get food," James said.

"Well I'm glad you had fun," Ara said.

When it was lunch time, Lily called Harry down to eat with them. He ate quickly, it seemed he wanted to get back to the library again. It was a quiet meal, everyone seemed absorbed in their own thoughts, or in Draco's case, too tired to think.

When the meal ended Ara found herself slightly frustrated. She knew she shouldn't have been; she shouldn't have expected anything. She wasn't even sure that the Potters or Sirius _knew_that it was her birthday. But she had expected Draco to at least wish her a 'happy birthday.' He did know when it was, they grew up together after all.

"What?" Draco asked tiredly when he noticed Ara was staring at him.

"You really have nothing to say to me?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching showing she wasn't really upset.

Her comment caught the attention of the others at the table and they looked between the two curiously.

Draco frowned, it seemed he was thinking hard "Do you want to watch tv with me?" he asked hesitantly.

Ara snorted and shook her head "absolutely not... not until you figure out what you need to say to me," she said with a smirk.

Draco grumbled about crazy cousins before standing and returning to the television, Lily taking a book outside to read, Sirius going to bother Harry, and James pulling out some parchments and writing on them.

Ara sighed and made her way up to her room. She closed the door behind her and followed the mechanical movements of pulling out the box from her top drawer and opening it, letting the family tree fill the room once more. She stared at it. It was her newest obsession, something she couldn't get off her mind no matter how much she wanted to. The more she looked at it the more she wondered what the meaning was of the dead flower branching from her father's name or the floating flower that seemed like it didn't belong on the tree at all.

She pulled out a notepad that Lily had bought her and began drafting her letter to Charlie. Still glancing at the tree every so often.

_Charlie,_

_ Thank you for the birthday wishes. I wish you were here as well. I would love to come and visit Kit and Lady. But more importantly, I think I'd rather visit you. Things are going well in Potter Manor; everyone seems to be doing their own thing. Harry's doing something that's probably dangerous, his mother has no idea, but it seems James and Sirius do. Draco's become fascinated with all things muggle. It's quite shocking really. He loves the television especially. I can't say I blame him, after watching the movie with you, those moving picture stories are truly fascinating. I think I'll have to take Draco someday to see it on the big screen. _

_ I'd rather not divulge everything Kit said in the tournament, at least not just yet. I don't think I could say it without blushing. You'd probably see my blush straight through this parchment. And yes, Tonks is funny. I love when she turns her nose into a pig's nose. She also changed her appearance to look a bit like Snape. It was very entertaining._

_ There's a lot I'd like to tell you... I'm obsessing a bit and feel like i'm going mad, I'm just not sure how safe it is to say over letters. I overheard James saying one of the letter's that was sent to Harry was intercepted. _

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Ara_

She couldn't think of what else to say so she folded the letter and laid it on the desk in her room. She looked back at the tree, her obsession there, growing stronger by the minute. She wanted to talk to Charlie about it, ask him what he thought. She wanted his reassurance that it didn't matter what that damn dead flower and detached flower meant. But she couldn't talk to him about it over a letter and she didn't know when she'd see him again.

She sighed heavily and snapped the box shut, making up her mind. It seemed she didn't have any other plans for her birthday, so she may as well do something productive. She tucked the box into her robe and made her way downstairs.

She knocked the door to James's office, opening it when he waved her in.

"Do you mind watching Draco today?" she asked. "I'm sure he won't leave the television."

James chuckled "I don't mind… but where are you going?" he asked hesitantly.

Ara hesitated "I just have to see someone about something." She grimaced, that didn't sound good.

James looked at her intently and shrugged "I don't need to know everything you do Ara, you're an adult… just be careful… Draco may be in more danger than you, but you're hardly safe."

Ara sighed, she knew he meant well, and he probably felt somewhat responsible for her wellbeing.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I shouldn't be too long... Maybe an hour."

James nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you in a bit then."

Ara waved goodbye and left through the front door, not saying goodbye to the others. She walked to the end of the wards and apparated to Diagon Alley.

She made her way up to the bank, through the large double doors. She walked over to a goblin who she didn't recognize. "Is Bill Weasley available?" she asked softly.

The goblin nodded and disappeared behind the back. She didn't have to wait long before Bill came out. He sighed and shook his head when he saw her but motioned for her to follow him.

"Are you stalking me?" he asked jokingly.

Ara rolled her eyes "not really stalking if I find out with work related stuff."

"Ah," Bill said, "so this isn't something personal?"

Ara sighed as Bill motioned for her to sit. He sat on the other side of his desk. It was a rather cramped space and she briefly wondered how he managed to work in such small quarters. They were separated from others by four cubical walls and Ara assumed that the walls must be sound proof, considering she couldn't hear anyone else around them.

"What's up?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Ara pulled out the box from beneath her cloak and laid it on the table. "I guess it's not _entirely_work related… other than that I found it in one of the vaults."

Bills eyes seemed to light up with interest at the sight of the box again. He clearly remembered what it was. Ara opened the box and let the tree fill the area completely showing each branch.

"when I first opened it, we saw that there were no women on it… Well I believe the women are represented by flowers," she said softly, touching one of the pedals on the tree. "well this is my father," she said pointing at one of the names near the bottom, showing he was one of the last living Lestranges. She pointed to the flower surrounding his, "I believe this is my mother…" she moved upwards and pointed to the dead flower "I don't know who this would be… or this," she said pointing to the lone flower, unattached from the rest of the tree.

Bill stared at it, glancing upwards every so often as though to compare. "dead flowers and disheveled faces represent family members who have died," he said simply. "that would suggest that Bellatrix and Rodolphus had a child who died…. As for this flower, I could only assume it's you?" he questioned, almost afraid himself of the answer.

"So, what does that mean?" Ara asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "why am I detached? Am I not a Lestrange?" she had desperation in her voice, and it seemed Bill picked up on it. He grabbed her arm reassuringly.

"well figure it out." He said. He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cubical area and into the atrium where the goblin offices were located.

He rapped on the door of one of the offices that read 'Plasar.'

"He specializes in genealogy," Bill said with his ear to the door "he'll work with the more challenging people... people who don't really know where they come from."

There was a small 'enter' heard from behind the door. Bill opened it, stepping into the entryway, Ara standing just behind him. "Sorry to bother you, I know she doesn't have an appointment, but she was looking at her family tree and had a couple of quick questions she thought you might be able to answer," he said, gesturing to Ara.

Plasar looked behind Bill "and who would this be."

Bill looked surprised "sorry sir, this is Ara Lestrange."

"Ah" Plasar began, looking unsurprised at Ara being there. "I did wonder if you would ever pay me a visit."

Ara frowned and followed Bill into the office sitting in one of the chairs across from the goblin.

"I'll leave you to it," Bill said hesitantly, stepping back towards the door.

"No," Ara said quickly grabbing his arm. "please stay."

Bill smiled "alright," he whispered as he sat beside her.

"So…. Why'd you think it was possible for me to come?" she asked the goblin.

"I was sure you'd be interested in your lineage."

Ara sighed and pulled out the box. "My family tree is unique… all the women, I believe, are represented by flowers… but my next to my father's name, there's a dead flower and a flower that isn't connected at all to the tree…"

The goblin didn't ask to look at the tree, instead he pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote Ara's name on top.

"I will require blood here," he said, pointing at a small circle on the parchment. He handed her a small knife.

Ara hesitated, but cut the tip of her finger, letting the blood flow onto the paper. With a touch of the goblin's finger names began appearing under Ara's name. Some were illegible while other stood out as clear as day.

"You want to know if you are that detached flower?" the goblin asked.

Ara nodded.

"Well I can tell you that it is likely that flower represents you and while I haven't seen the tree in question, I can tell you that you are a Lestrange through adoption."

Ara stilled. She felt her chest tighten as the air was sucked from her lungs.

"So Rodolphus isn't her biological father?" Bill asked, shock evident in his voice as well.

The goblin nodded "that is correct. You do not have Lestrange blood, however you were legally adopted and named as the Lestrange heir."

"Is Bellatrix my mother?" Ara asked quietly. She couldn't quite believe her ears. She had thought her entire life that she was a Lestrange, but to find out that she didn't have an ounce of Lestrange blood… that the only reason she inherited the title was because he adopted her.

"It would seem so," the goblin said looking at the paper. "you do have black blood in your system, specifically Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black."

Ara could feel Bill's eyes on her. "Do you know who her father is?" he asked.

The goblin shook his head "while we'd normally be able to tell through blood samples, I'm afraid your father isn't in our system."

"What does that mean?" she asked quietly.

"It means we've never had to test his blood and are therefore unable to find a match."

Ara sighed.

"Well are you able to trace back any other lineage? Other than Black?"

"I'm afraid something like that would take much more time and more tests," Plasar said.

"Thank you," Ara said jumping to her feet and giving a small bow to the goblin before leaving the office.

She walked quickly towards the Gringotts exit. She felt like she was suffocating and desperately needed some fresh air.

"Ara wait," Bill said, following closely behind her.

"Leave me alone Bill," she said.

"Not a chance," he said firmly following her out into the streets of Diagon Alley. "Ara," he said again, this time grabbing her arm and pulling her over to a more secluded area.

"What?" She asked, turning sharply.

Bill seemed unsure of what to say, as though he had spoken too soon when he told her to stop. "Everything will be fine… it's no big deal that he's not your father."

Ara scoffed and Bill grimaced, clearly realizing that wasn't the right thing to say.

"You don't get it," she said sharply. "I don't have the slightest idea who I am, I'm not really a Lestrange. I've been lied to my entire life!" she gripped her hair tightly "it's not even that Rodolphus isn't my father, it's that I don't have the slightest idea who my father _is_."

"You're right, I don't get it," Bill said, rubbing her arms sympathetically. "But we can make an appointment and we can try to figure out who your father is… until then, we at least know who your mother is."

Ara sighed but nodded, it really wasn't much consolation that she knew who her mother was. It didn't help her know whether her father was another Death Eater? Was he some poor unsuspecting guy who she tricked into sleeping with her?

Bill sighed and pulled Ara into a tight hug. Ara resisted initially but gave into the hug.

"Do you think my father even knows about me?" She asked with a sigh. "Do you think he knows that eighteen years ago today his daughter was born and adopted by a sociopath?"

Bill snorted "What makes you think your father isn't a bigger sociopath than Rodolphus?"

Ara rolled her eyes and pushed Bill away, but a smile had made its way onto her face.

"Wait," Bill said turning serious "Did you say eighteen years ago today?"

Ara snorted but nodded "Happy birthday to me," she said pathetically.

Bill sighed "wait here Lestrange," he said and without another word he turned and made his way back into the bank.

Ara sighed and sat on a nearby bench. She knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing, sitting out in the open for anyone to see her, but she didn't particularly care.

Bill came out a few minutes later carrying his jacket. "I'm off for the day and we are getting drinks," it wasn't a question.

"No, it's alright," she said quickly.

"It's your birthday and you've had a shitty day… let me buy you a drink."

Ara stared at him for a moment "alright then," she said.

She followed Bill through the crowd and to a small alley way. He held out his arm and Ara grasped it tightly. With a small pop the two of them were sucked through a tight tube landing in an alley way in muggle London.

* * *

She was more than a little buzzed. her brain was foggy and all she knew for certain was that she felt good. She felt that anything was possible. But, more than anything, she felt that muggle drinks were far superior to wizard drinks.

"Arrrra… did you k *cough* know that you nname sounds like a pirate," Bill said, his words slurring. "Never thought my little brother'd *hiccup* would go for a pira… priate…. Pirate."

Ara rolled her eyes "I'm sure thhere's a lot you don't know about what your brother would do," she said with a lilt in her voice, making Bill drop his head in his hands at the suggestive remark.

"I don't not need to know about that."

Ara laughed. She looked across the room, the club was busy, the music was blaring. They were sitting at a small table off the side of the dance floor.

"This is from those gentlemen over there," the waiter said, putting two shot glasses down in front of her and Bill.

She glanced over to the bar where the waiter had pointed and saw two men. They were both attractive and one was smirking at her while the other was looking dreamily at Bill. Ara offered them a small wave, before grabbing the shot before her.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked frowning.

"What?"

"Aren't you back together with Charlie?"

Ara smirked at him "I didn't realize that accepting a shot constituted as a marriage proposal," she said sarcastically. "besides, I don't know if we're back together or not…"

Bill rolled his eyes "they'll think you're interested."

Ara shook her head "Anyone who buys anyone else a drink understands they could be wasting their money if the person isn't interested."

With that she grabbed the shot glass and tossed it in her mouth, letting it hit the back of her throat. She knew she was passing the point of being simply buzzed, that she would be drunk in mere moments and that once she was drunk all bets were off of what would happen, but in that moment she didn't care. In that moment she wanted five more shots, she wanted to turn off and shut down.

Bill shrugged and grabbed his shot as well.

Ara snorted "what does that mean Billy? Is that guy your type?"

Bill took the shot, not grimacing at the taste, something Ara hadn't mastered yet. "let me just say, I've seen uglier blokes," he said with a smirk, leaving Ara to wonder if Bill was gay.

She shook her head, he couldn't be, he'd been ogling a blonde sitting a few seats away for most of the night. She supposed it was possible he swung both ways.

He was looking back at the girl and Ara rolled her eyes. She may be taken, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help Bill get a date.

"Come on," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards their table.

He pulled back slightly when he realized where they were going, but Ara grabbed his hand tighter and pulled him along.

"Hello," she said with a small flirty smile. "would you like to dance?" She asked the friend who the girl came with. He was tall and handsome with dark hair and blue eyes. Eyes that reminded her of Charlie.

He looked her up and down before nodding and grabbing her hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. She looked back and saw Bill holding out his hand to the pretty blonde.

The man pulled Ara into a dance; it was a slow song, so he held her close. "I would have asked you to dance sooner, but I thought you were with that guy," he said, his voice low, making Ara move back uncomfortably.

She shrugged "we're just friends… he's actually rather interested in your friends, so I figured I'd give him a little push… I'm actually dating his brother."

"You have a boyfriend?" the guy tensed and seemed upset, but his grip on her tightened.

"I do… sort of," she said with a guilty smile.

She glanced over at Bill who was twirling the blonde on the dance floor. She was smiling and laughing and seemed to be having a good time.

"you don't seem to certain about that boyfriend… can't be too serious."

Ara shook her head "It's complicated, but I'm serious about him," she thought Charlie was too, but other than telling her he wasn't going to let her go, they hadn't exactly discussed just how serious they were.

"Hm," he pulled her closer, so he was breathing on her neck. Ara pulled back, pushing on his chest uncomfortably.

"My sister seems to like your friend," he said huskily staring behind her.

Ara glanced back and saw the two of them dancing close, Bill whispering something, making her laugh.

"I'm John by the way," the guy said, burying his head in the crook of her neck. Ara grimaced and pushed him away.

"I'm taken," she said firmly.

"Well why isn't he here with you? Why's he letting you flirt with other guys?" he asked, his hand running lower on her back.

"He's working in Romania at the moment," she said trying to push him back once more, "and I'm not trying to flirt."

He grabbed her tighter and Ara felt his hand drop below her rear, groping her hard. Ara shoved him hard.

"Back off," she said and made her way off the dance floor, trying to reign in her magic before she lost control. She'd been drinking and she knew it was an easier way to lose control and the last thing she needed was to show a bunch of muggles that magic existed.

He grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her back towards him and groping her front "you know you like it."

Ara was about to react but didn't get a chance for the guy was pulled backward and thrown to the ground by a very angry red head. It happened quickly, in only a moment Bill was on top of the guy, hitting him repeatedly in the face.

It didn't take long before the guy seemed to catch on and for the shock to wear off before he threw Bill back, kicking him in the chest. Bill grunted as he landed on his back but wasted no time in jumping back up to his feet.

"Stop! Bill, stop," Ara said grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

That was clearly the wrong decision, for while Bill backed up, the other guy charged, punching Bill in the face.

Ara didn't hesitate, but grabbed the guy "enough," she said, her voice deadly quiet.

He yelled, twisting his body as pain coursed through it. He released Bill and landed hard on the floor.

"Come on," Ara said, grabbing Bill and pulling him to his feet before helping him out of the club and onto the deserted street.

They kept walking until they came to an alley way, Ara pulled Bill down it and with a small twist of her torso the two of them apparated away.

She couldn't explain the rage that was in her. It wasn't just the guy touching her, it was everything. It was finding out that Rodolphus wasn't her father, that she didn't have any Lestrange blood in her. More than that it was the fear of learning who her father truly was.

"Ara stop," Bill said, walking quickly to keep pace with her. It was clear he was still drunk, his feet sunk in the sand and he fell to his knees several times. "I'm sorry I got into a fight, but he wasn't leaving you alone," he insisted.

Ara realized his concern; it was that she was mad at him.

Ara turned around, stepping into Bill's personal space, causing him to stumble back with a look of surprise on his face.

"This isn't how my life was supposed to go!" she shouted, tears stinging the back of her eyes. "I don't even know who the fuck I am anymore!... I had a plan, I was graduating from school and getting the hell out of here, but I had to go and enter that damn tournament!"

She turned and started walking back towards the water, not bothering to wipe away the tears running down her face. She let the waves crash up around her feet. She hadn't been to the beach in ages, but it was something she had done with Connor. She left home at fourteen and they spent two worry free weeks away from her family.

"You're not alone Ara," Bill said hesitantly.

Ara laughed bitterly "My friends are all gone, back in Bulgaria, Merlin only knows what's happening to my aunt stuck in that house with a lunatic and to top it all off my maybe boyfriend is in Romania and I can only talk to him through letter and everything is surface because I can't tell him what's really going on because we don't know if the owls will get intercepted!" she shouted.

Bill was standing next to her, staring out over the ocean. "Life is bullshit," he said bitterly.

Ara wiped roughly at her face; she could feel herself losing control. She had been trying so hard to reign in her magic throughout the day, throughout the last month, she could tell it was now a losing battle.

Without control a scream ripped out of her throat and in a few moments it seemed as though the stars had disappeared. The clouds covered the moon and stars and the temperature dropped. In another few moments the rain started, but Ara couldn't stop, she held her hands in front of her clenching her fists tightly so her finger nails dug into her hands.

"FUCK!" she yelled again.

The rain was falling heavily, and the wind was flapping through the nearby trees, causing waves in the ocean.

"Shit," she heard from behind her and when she glanced around, she noticed the water moving back further and further as the tide got lower.

"Ara let's go," Bill said quickly.

She didn't respond, but instead frowned in confusion, glancing up at the dark sky. She felt as though she were in a trance, her mind was far more at ease in that moment than it had been. She unclenched her fists and raised her hands in the air and watched as the ocean came up to them once more, a ten-foot-tall wave hovering in front of them. It was then that Ara frowned, the root of the problem, the discomfort at the thought that Rodolphus wasn't her father, it was that she had a good idea of who her father really was. That thought alone terrified her.

With another tear fall down her face, Ara dropped her hands and in a moment the wind stopped blowing, the rain stopped falling and the wave came crashing down around them, sweeping Ara and Bill up pushing them back further onto the beach as the wave crashed along the shore line.

Ara gasped for breath when her head broke the surface of the water. There was nothing she could do except let the current take her. She saw a flailing of limbs and a wave of guilt rushed over her, she had caused this and had brought Bill along with her, all because she couldn't control her temper.

Ara felt the wind get knocked out of her as her back collided with a large rock. It was in another moment that the wave went rushing back to the ocean leaving her on the shore.

When she caught her breath again, she lifted her head, struggling to hold it up. While she suddenly felt much more sober, she also felt much heavier. She had lost all her energy and she wasn't sure if it was the sheer amount of magic she had used or if it was nearly drowning.

Bill laid only twenty feet away from her, he seemed to be in a similar state, only he was struggling to stand.

"Ara," she heard her name and watched as Bill stumbled walking towards her.

She made her way up to her knees, coughing slightly.

Bill dropped next to her, landing roughly on his rear. "what was that?" he asked. He also sounded much more sober.

Ara shook her head "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Has that happened before?"

Ara shook her head.

There were several pops heard in the distance and Ara tensed at the sight of many wands glowing bright.

"Aurors," Bill said, jumping to his feet and pulling Ara up with him. "we have to go."

"I can't," Ara said, and Bill stared at her for only a moment before realizing what she was saying.

"Hold on to me." She gripped his arm tightly as Bill spun on the spot and the two of them disappeared from view.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sirius sat with one hand gripping a steaming mug and the other fidgeting restlessly against his leg. It was one o'clock in the morning and Ara was nowhere to be found. What was even more frustrating was that they had no way of getting ahold of her. Sirius had meant to give her a two-way mirror but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

"Why did she go to you before she left anyways?" he asked for the fifth time. He grimaced at the sound of jealousy in his voice. He knew it was absurd.

James sighed "I don't know Sirius."

Sirius fidgeted uncomfortably; it was rare that James ever used his first name. Usually only when he was mad at him or sometimes even annoyed.

They had been awake all night, when she didn't return home around 5 they started to worry. By the time 10 hit they had called for help to find her. Now it was early morning and they were left wondering what could have happened to Ara Lestrange.

"Any word?" the soft voice came from the door. Draco was as white as a sheet and had clearly ignored all encouragement to 'get some rest.'

Sirius shook his head "Dumbledore's asking around."

"you don't know what's been going on with her?" James asked when Draco sat at the table. Lily jumped up to get him something to drink.

Draco shook his head "it's not unusual for her to disappear," he said. "I just never thought she'd disappear in this situation."

"What do you mean it's not unusual?" James asked.

Draco shrugged "she was always running off, staying out after curfew… I remember one time she disappeared for two weeks; she'd gone somewhere with Connor… she'd always tell me when she was leaving though… She only kept it from mum and dad."

Sirius shook his head "maybe she's just out with friends."

Lily looked disbelievingly as she set a hot cup of cocoa in front of Draco. "Surely she knows how dangerous it is?"

Sirius shrugged "the war had started when we graduated from Hogwarts and I was just as reckless if not more so," he said almost as though he were trying to convince himself it was no big deal.

James shook his head "but when we graduated, we weren't even a crumb in the food chain… We weren't being hunted or recruited, not for the first year."

"All I'm saying is maybe she doesn't realize how big the risk is."

There was a small noise from the fireplace in the living room and Sirius jumped to his feet. He hadn't made it to the door when it opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in. Sirius sighed, disappointed and sat back down.

"No word?" James asked.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly but took the offered seat next to Lily.

"Draco, was anything troubling her lately?" he asked, his voice calm as he stared at the young blonde intently.

Draco shrugged "I – I don't know headmaster…. I know she's been having nightmares and hasn't been sleeping well…"

"Has she done anything out of the ordinary?"

Draco scoffed "well everything's really out of the ordinary sir…" he said sarcastically before frowning "actually…. There was one thing… after the picnic last week I had gone up to her bedroom to see if she wanted to play games… she had a box and when I asked her about it she shoved it in a drawer and locked it…. I didn't really think anything of it… then this morning she said there was something I needed to tell her, but she didn't seem upset about whatever it was."

The adults in the room looked curious, but no one had an answer as to what the box could have been. James and Sirius shared a look before bolting down the hall to Ara's room. Sirius knew he shouldn't be looking through her things, but if there was any way to find where she was, they needed it.

The two of them looked through the drawers of the dresser, none of which were locked. That only suggested to Sirius that she had the box with her, whatever it was.

"Mate, look at this," James said, handing Sirius a piece of parchment. It was flattened out as though she'd read it a hundred times.

Sirius gut clenched into knots at the first couple words. _Happy birthday. _

He left the room with James following closely behind him and made his way back to the kitchen, the letter still firmly in his hand.

"Draco when's Ara's birthday?"

Draco frowned "I hardly think that's important right – " his face went whiter as he glanced at the clock and the calendar. He dropped his head onto the table in front of him. "I'm the worst cousin ever… that's what I was supposed to tell her"

"it was today? Or yesterday I suppose…" James said.

"I had no idea," Lily said quietly.

"Is that why she ran off? Because we forgot it was her birthday?" James asked.

Draco shook his head "she wouldn't leave because we forgot… Birthdays have always been important in our family, but she's more likely to take the micky out of you for forgetting then get hurt over it… but she may have gone out with friends," he added with a shrug. He seemed far less worried than he had initially.

"Who's the letter from Sirius?" Lily asked, motioning toward the letter in his hand.

"Charlie," he grumbled.

"Is it possible she went to see him?" James asked.

Draco shrugged "I wouldn't put it past her to make an illegal portkey and go all the way to Romania."

James sighed and went over to the fireplace, throwing a handful of floo powder into the flames. He wasn't in there for long, but long enough to have a conversation. Sirius was hoping that he had found Ara there, even if it meant James got an eyeful.

When James pulled out, all hopes that she was there vanished. He still looked dejected.

"He hasn't seen her or heard from her… He wants me to floo him in a couple hours and if she's still not back, he'll be on the next portkey out here," James finished.

"I'm surprised he's not coming now," Sirius grumbled.

"He said there's no portkey until tomorrow evening and he doesn't know how to make an illegal one," James snorted.

Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch before looking outside. The night had grown dark, very dark, very quick. It didn't take long for the rain to start; it was loud as it landed on the window with a million 'pings.' The wind increased and it didn't take long for thunder to be heard and lightning to be seen.

All occupants of the room had gone completely silent. A storm had come, and they knew it wasn't an ordinary storm, but one caused by magic. Suddenly their fear for Ara grew even stronger.

They watched the rain hit the window for a short while. When it started to die down Sirius stood and started pacing. He grabbed his jacket of the coat rack and made his way for the front door; James wasn't far behind him.

He walked out onto the front lawn when he heard "Draco, you can't go."

He turned around and watched as James blocked his way from moving further down the lawn.

"She's practically my sister," he insisted. Harry was there now, holding Draco back.

"I understand, but if you leave and something happens to you, she will never forgive herself," he insisted.

Draco scoffed and wrenched his arm free from Harry "she might be dead!" he shouted.

Sirius turned and walked back, grabbing ahold of Draco's shoulders. "Voldemort doesn't want her dead; he wants her on his side." He thought the statement was more frightening than the idea that Ara might be dead, but Draco seemed to gather comfort from it.

Sirius and James made their way to the end of the wards, Lily helped usher the other two back inside. As soon as they reached the point where they could apparate when a bright light appeared in the shape of a dragon.

"She's here," was all that the voice of Charlie had said before the Patronus disappeared.

Sirius let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding at the sight of it. Ara was there, and while Sirius wanted to be furious with her that she went all the way to Romania, he was simply grateful that she was alive. He'd be angry later.

* * *

Ara landed flat on her back. She groaned and simply laid there. She was tired and she wasn't sure if it was the liquor or the magic.

"Ara?" the face that peered over her caught her by surprise. She sat up quickly, her face coming only inches from him.

"Charlie?" She asked shock. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bill stand up and make his way towards them, confusion on his face as well. She leaned forward and kissed Charlie chastely on the lips. She felt him smile but was relieved when he ran his hand through her hair and turned the kiss more passionate.

"Gross… let's go inside," Bill said making his way towards the cabin.

Ara looked around realizing they were somewhere new entirely.

Charlie helped her onto her feet and grabbed her hand pulling her back to the cabin.

"Hello brother," he said throwing one arm around Bill who was slouching, making it easier.

Bill sighed "thank merlin you're here…. I can't handle your girlfriend."

Ara couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. He didn't look at her, there was no smirk or flirty smile. She let go of Charlie's hand and walked back towards the cabin. She opened the door and was surprised at the homey feeling. It wasn't huge but was bigger than it looked. It had a living room and a kitchen and two bedrooms that branched off from a small hallway off the living room.

"where are we?" Ara sked turning to Bill and Charlie. Bill had plopped onto the couch as soon as they were through the doors.

"Charlie's place," Bill said with a small groan leaning sideways, letting his head land on the pillow.

"we're in Romania?" she asked surprised glancing at Charlie who wore a smile.

He shrugged "I have no idea how you ended up in my front yard." Charlie turned and made his way to the kitchen while Ara sat across from Bill.

"how did you apparate us all the way to Romania?" she asked.

Bill shook his head "it wasn't apparation… it was something different, another spell I learned in Egypt. It's called naql."

Ara frowned "If it can take you this far, why isn't it taught instead of apparition?"

"It's illegal. It's far more dangerous and isn't exactly 'light magic'" he emphasized.

Charlie came back in carrying a couple of potions and a couple drinks handing them to Bill and Ara. "I sent word to James and Sirius… they were worried," he said.

Ara grimaced, she had been out all night and told them she'd only be gone for an hour. While she used to disappear all the time, she knew she shouldn't be doing it anymore, not with how much danger they were in.

Bill groaned once more, letting his head fall back onto the pillow.

Charlie rolled his eyes "Let's get you to bed," he said grabbing one of Bill's arms and hoisting him up off the couch. Ara knew Charlie was strong, but Bill wasn't a small guy and Charlie had picked him up as though he weighed very little.

"I'll be right back," Charlie said as he led Bill towards one of the bedrooms.

Ara was grateful. That meant, she hoped, that she'd get to share Charlie's bed.

She stood up and walked around the small living room. There were pictures on his mantle place. Most of them were of his family and him, there were several of him and Bill, even one of him and a dragon. Ara bit back her disappointment that there wasn't one of her up there. She was still so confused on where she stood with Charlie.

"There's a picture of you by my bed," Charlie said as if reading her mind.

She turned around quickly and smiled.

"It was a toss-up though," he said with a lilt in his voice and a smirk on his face "between the one of you and I or the one of me and the dragon…"

Ara shoved him in the shoulder "well I'm glad you chose me."

Charlie smiled sweetly and wrapped him arms around her waist. When she put her arms around his neck he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I was worried when James called," he said, still gripping her tightly.

"I'm sorry… I swear we weren't really in danger."

"Still," Charlie said, pulling back slightly but still keeping his arms around her waist.

"I really didn't mean to worry anyone… I went to the bank and Bill took me out for drinks and we got a bit shit faced," she said with a shrug.

Charlie gave her a look, one that said he knew there was a lot she was leaving out. "and it was the liquor that caused you to be covered in water and scratches?"

Ara sighed she wanted to talk to Charlie, she'd been wanting to talk to him for days, but now that she was with him, she didn't. It was too fresh, and she was far too tired.

"Come on," Charlie said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hallway to the other room.

It was sparsely decorated, it seemed clear that Charlie didn't spend much time in there, except to sleep. Her picture was indeed sitting next to his bedside.

Charlie stepped forward in front of Ara "it's not much," he said, "but it's home."

Ara smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck once more "I think it's lovely."

"thanks," he whispered leaning forward and kissing her firmly on the lips.

Ara pulled him in closer pressing her body tightly against his. She missed this, missed him.

"I know you don't want to talk about what happened just yet… but I do have one question," he said resting his forehead against Ara's and unbuttoning her jacket.

"yes?"

"Why are you soaking wet?"

Ara laughed nervously "it's a bit of a long story…."

Charlie leaned forward and kissed her deeply, pulling off her jacket. Her breath caught in her throat. "I have nothing but time," he said.

He leaned forward and kissed her again, running his hands under her shirt. Ara moaned into the kiss and reached down to unbutton his pants.

"I'm not wet," he said smirking.

Ara rolled her eyes "you're still wearing too many clothes." She pulled up his shirt and pulled it over his head.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him once more, pressing her body into his.

Charlie laughed and pulled back slightly "you're still soaking," he said, pulling up the hem of her shirt. "how did this happen?"

Ara sighed "I may have been upset and caused a small storm."

Charlie's hands stilled and he looked at Ara in bewilderment. "what?"

Ara shrugged "it wasn't that bad, I apparated Bill and I to the beach because I just wanted to get away and then I was angry, and I don't know… a storm started."

"hm…" Charlie said kissing her once more. "I guess that would explain why you are wet…" he reached down to unbutton her shorts "I think we've been talking too much."

Ara nodded and it took no time for Charlie to attach himself to her once more pushing her back onto the bed. Ara kissed him hungrily, it had been far too long since they'd been together. Ara let herself get taken away by the man she loved, feeling the tension that had been in her chest earlier ease. She may not have known exactly what they were or where they stood in their relationship, but it was clear they were far from over.

* * *

She awoke warmer than normal and far more content. She also noted that she hadn't had a single nightmare. She smiled at the arms wrapped tightly around her.

"morning," Charlie said, his voice gruff with lack of use.

Ara glanced back at him over her shoulder "good morning…. I could get used to this."

Charlie chuckled "me too," he leaned forward and kissed her on the neck. Charlie groaned as Ara rolled around in his arms so that she was facing him. "If you move it means we're going to have to get up soon and I'd rather stay in bed all day."

Ara sighed "me too, but I'm sure Bill would rather we get up."

Charlie snorted "oh yeah… him."

Ara rolled her eyes "he's your brother."

"no no no no no," Charlie whined as Ara moved out of his arms, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Come on," she said fondly, pulling on her clothes and throwing her hair up into a messy bun.

Charlie groaned once more but stood up and started pulling on clothes (at a much slower pace).

When the two of them were dressed they headed to the kitchen of the small cabin. They were unsurprised to find Bill was already up, reading the Romanian paper and sipping coffee.

"Hello," Ara said hesitantly.

Bill looked in her direction and Ara had to hold back a gasp. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Get a good look Lestrange… this is all your fault," Bill said glancing back to his paper.

Ara scoffed at him while Charlie laughed and went to get the two of them some coffee.

"It was my fault you got attacked by a muggle?" she asked.

Bill simply glared.

"you got attacked by a muggle Billy?" Charlie asked as he sat. He stared intently at his brother taking in the bruising. "he got you good."

Bill glared at his brother, rubbing his face with his hands before grimacing as one hand ran over the bruise.

"So, are you going to tell me how you got the bruise?" Charlie asked Bill although with a small glance towards Ara it was clear he was asking her as well.

Bill sighed, looking at Ara for permission. "I took Ara to a muggle bar and got into it with some bloke who got a bit handsy with her."

Charlie set down his coffee mug. He looked angry. "He got handsy with her?" he asked wanting more information.

"Bill was ogling this blonde… So, I asked her brother to dance while she danced with Bill," her gut twisted guiltily, she knew the dance had meant nothing, but she did wonder if she had led him on at all. "well he grabbed me, and Bill attacked him when I pushed him away."

Charlie's face softened "well thanks," he said to Bill.

Bill shrugged "he was an arse. I would have come out on top, but Ara distracted me, and he managed to hit me."

Charlie nodded "you did get quite the shiner… what are you going to tell mum?"

Bill snorted and shook his head "I was hoping you had some bruise salve?"

Charlie shrugged and shook his head "sorry mate."

Bill sighed "oh well… you don't get the Daily Prophet do you?"

Charlie shook his head "they have it at the rec center if you want one."

Bill shrugged "I just wanted to see if the storm Ara caused made it into the papers."

Charlie snorted "I'm sure it did if it was clear it was caused by magic… I'm pretty certain there's only three people in existence right now who can change the weather."

Ara tensed, her earlier thoughts of the night before flooding back. The thought of her father. Bill glanced in her direction and Ara gave him a slight shake of the head.

"Well I'll go to the rec center… I think you two need to talk," Bill said folding up the paper and standing up.

"Do you remember how to get there?"

Bill nodded at Charlie's question and with a small wave he left the house.

Ara gripped her mug tightly, not making eye contact.

"Ara," Charlie said, grabbing her hand tightly in his "what's going on?"

Ara huffed "Rodolphus Lestrange isn't my father," she said quickly.

"what?" Charlie asked surprised.

Ara shrugged before running into Charlie's room and pulling out the shrunken box from her coat pocket. She walked back into the kitchen, set it on the table and opened it letting the tree fill the room.

She explained the tree to him, pointing at her father and the detached flower. "I went to see Bill yesterday because he had already seen the tree. He took me to another goblin, Plasar, who told me that I had no Lestrange blood in my system and was only a Lestrange through adoption."

Charlie was quietly processing the information. "So you don't know who your father is?"

Ara stilled at the question before shaking her head. "I have an idea, but no, I don't know for sure."

Charlie glanced at her and it was clear he was thinking the same thing as her. "You know I'll love you no matter who your father is?"

She felt her eyes burn at the statement but nodded.

"I think before you start worrying about who it is, we should have more tests run about your lineage. We should be certain."

Ara nodded once more "I suppose."

Charlie gripped her hand once more "Do you want to see Lady?" He asked with a flirty smile.

Ara chuckled; she knew he was trying to distract her considering there was nothing she could do until she met with a specialist. She figured she may as well let her considering she wasn't sure when she'd get to see Charlie again.

"Alright," she said leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek before heading to his bedroom to get ready.

* * *

Ara was in awe of the reserve. It was massive in size and there were dragons everywhere. While you couldn't get too close unless you were a handler, you could still see them flying far overhead.

The first stop they made was to see Lady. Ara found herself enjoying it much more now that she wasn't a part of a competition. What amazed her most was being able to see how she interacted with her children.

"want to go in?" Charlie asked giving Ara a small nudge.

"Yes," she said instantly. She hadn't thought she'd be able to get up close to them.

"Just don't tell my boss," Charlie said as he waved his wand, grabbing Ara's hand with his free hand and pulling her into the enclosure.

She felt like she was drenched in water as she passed through the barrier only to come out the other end dry. She sucked in a deep breath as they made their way closer to the dragon.

"You want to approach her first, before you approach her kids…. Or she'll just wipe you out."

Ara nodded and followed shortly behind Charlie. There was another handler in the enclosure at a distance, checking on one of the dragon babies.

It didn't take long for the dragon to notice them. They approached slowly, it seemed that while she recognized Charlie she didn't recognize Ara.

"Hey Lady," Charlie whispered reaching his arm out even though they were still a good twenty feet away from her. "We wait for them to approach us," Charlie said standing still with one arm held in front of him and the other gripping his wand tightly.

They both were caught off guard when the dragon rushed at them closing the space, it's large clawlike foot landing directly in front of her. She knew Charlie was saying something to her, but she couldn't distinguish what it was. The dragon's head was mere inches from hers and everything in her gut told her to stay still.

Ara wasn't sure how long she had held her breath, but after what felt like hours the dragon shifted, lowering its body so it was laying on the ground and lowering its head so it was at Ara's feet, not that it made the dragon much lower considering how large it's head was.

Ignoring Charlie's mutterings from beside her, Ara raised a shaky hand and ran it along Lady's scales.

"You're beautiful," she said quietly, taking in the magnificent creature.

It's head tilted and Ara could have sworn the dragon was smiling.

"Ara…" Charlie sounded confused and concerned. She spared him a glance only to see a look of astonishment on his face. "Dragons don't usually let humans do that."

Ara shrugged she didn't know why the dragon seemed taken with her.

"I should go Lady, but I'll come back to see you," Ara said hesitantly. She knew Charlie was worried that the dragon would suddenly change its mind and decide to eat her, she didn't want to worry him more.

The dragon huffed but didn't seem to mind as Ara took a step back. Charlie grabbed her hand in his and led her out of the enclosure, both walking backwards, keeping their eyes on the creature.

"I've never seen a dragon do that… Usually if they like humans they'll just let them in their enclosure without attacking, or they'll let them fly alongside them… I've never seen one be petted," he said in awe.

"What language were you speaking?" he asked.

Ara stilled and turned to look at him. She hadn't realized it was another language. It wasn't parsletongue, she knew that much. She was able to speak it, but she knew when she was speaking it. It was something she had kept quiet, even from her family. She knew they would have approved but when she was a kid she wanted her friendships with the slithering creatures to be between her and them.

"I don't know," she said quietly "please don't tell anyone."

Charlie was looking at her intently, he ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to provide her comfort. "Was it parsletongue?"

Ara shook her head "no, I can tell when I speak that…"

Charlie nodded "I'm not even surprised you can speak it... I can just picture you laying in your backyard at that big manor covered in dirt and talking to a little garden snake."

Ara snorted "My aunt would get so mad… She hated when I was dirty," she remembered fondly.

"I think being able to speak to snakes is pretty cool… wish I could do it," he said with a sad sigh. "Harry's parseltongue," he added as an afterthought.

Ara nodded "That was in the article that skeeter wrote… I wondered if it was true or not."

"Yeah, it became common knowledge in his second year at Hogwarts."

Charlie's face fell at the memory, he smiled sadly before turning and continuing his walking.

Ara grabbed his hand once more, in there time together, it wasn't the first time he'd mentioned Harry's second year. While she knew Harry had had some exciting years, she wasn't sure what they had to do with Charlie, what made it difficult for him to think about. "what happened?"

Charlie sighed; they were at a large building with a wooden sign on the outside labeled 'rec center.' "Take a seat," he said gesturing to one of the wooden picnic tables "I'll get us some food."

She wasn't sure if that meant he was going to ignore the question, or if it meant it was a long story and he needed a distraction.

She didn't have to wait long before a red head plopped down across from her.

"Lestrange," Bill said with a heavy sigh.

Ara smiled "I don't know that you can really call me that anymore."

"Why?" he asked taking a drink from the steaming cup in front of him "have you decided to reject your lineage and heritage?"

Ara snorted and shook her head.

Bill shrugged "Then you are still Lestrange. We made the paper by the way." He shook his head in exasperation but offered her a kind smile. "Thankfully they have no idea who started the storm, just that it was caused by someone very powerful. 'A new dark Lord? Or a new warrior?'" he said changing his voice as he read the title.

"well I suppose that's not too bad… I couldn't even imagine what they'd say if they got wind that it was a Lestrange who caused it," she said tiredly. She was relived no one saw them.

Bill shrugged "it definitely would have read 'new dark lord' and who knows maybe it wouldn't have been so off…... I'm kidding," he added with a smirk at Ara's glare.

A tray of food was set in front of her and Ara sighed of sadness at the sight of it. It was a meal that was served frequently when she was at Durmstrang. Charlie sat across from her, already beginning to eat, not looking up or acknowledging that he was sitting beside Bill.

"Charlie, I didn't mean to upset you," Ara said quietly, pushing the food around on her plate.

He shook his head swallowing thickly and putting down his fork "it was just a rough year," he said.

"What year?" Bill asked looking at Charlie with a frown.

"Gin's first year at Hogwarts."

"Oh," Bill said nodding in agreement. He turned back to Ara "you have to understand, we're older than five highly obnoxious siblings and while we left because we wanted some freedom and peace, we were always a close family."

"Bill and I have always been close, best friends really… Percy was a bit of an outcast. While Bill and I were closer to him than the others were, he played by the rules and hated that we didn't," Charlie said with a shrug.

Bill continued and Ara was briefly amazed at how close the brothers were. They seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. "Fred and George came as a package deal. They're twins obviously, but I swear they share one brain."

"Then there was Ron and Ginny… While they're not as close as Fred and George or even Bill and I, they are close considering how close they are in age. Ron was always picked on the most considering Fred and George didn't feel like they could pick on us, we'd always win," Charlie said with a smirk.

"but Ginny was different. None of us had ever had a sister and she became a bit of a princess," Bill finished.

Ara frowned "I don't know Ginny well, but she doesn't seem too stuck up."

Bill and Charlie smiled and Ara was caught off guard by how much they looked alike when they smiled.

"Not in that way," Bill said fondly "she's a tomboy, always wanted to be like her brothers. She tough and fearless, but every one of us brothers have been overly protective of her."

"I'd write to her at least once a week when I was at Hogwarts and Billy would write to her nearly every other day," Charlie said. "It all stopped once she started at Hogwarts," he said sadly.

"It didn't stop because she thought it was lame… but the few times we did talk to her, she was… different," Bill said his frown deepening. "she didn't make much sense and she was trying to be reassuring while being absolutely terrified of something."

"I went to Hogwarts shortly after Christmas and she looked like she hadn't been sleeping or eating… she would flinch whenever I'd try to hug her, it was horrible and I'll never regret anything more than leaving her that day." Charlie was upset, he seemed near tears and all Ara could do was grab his hand and encourage him to continue.

"Ron hadn't been as close to her at Hogwarts since he was always around Harry and Hermione, but he started to notice the changes as well… the next time we heard from them it was a shaky letter from mum telling us to come to the school because Ginny had been killed," Bill finished.

Ara gasped but didn't interrupt.

"Billy and I arrived around the same time, when we made it to Hogwarts it was to find my sister being smothered by mum and Harry holding some bloody sword…. Afterwards we learnt that Ginny had been possessed for most of the year by Voldemort and there was this basilisk roaming the halls petrifying students… Ginny had been taken and Harry and Ron went after her and Harry killed the basilisk… and that's when we learnt he could talk to snakes," Charlie added as an afterthought.

"Shit," Ara said, trying to process the whole story. "Poor Ginny… I had heard of the basilisk from Draco, but I had no idea how serious it was."

The brothers nodded "She still has nightmares," Bill said. "I don't think it's something she'll ever be fully over."

Ara shook her head, the girl had been possessed by an evil man and being that close to something so evil damages the soul at least a little bit. Her frown deepened "how was she possessed by Voldemort? He was… well a ghost of sorts until the final task."

The two shared a look, it seemed Charlie was asking for permission. When. Bill shrugged he turned back to Ara "we're not entirely sure, but we've been researching it… what we've gathered is that Ginny had been writing in this diary… a diary that had once belonged to Voldemort and somehow that diary was some sort of carrier or was possessed itself by Voldemort… we're not sure exactly how, but we have some theories…" Charlie trailed off with a frown realizing how crazy it sounded.

Ara nodded, opening her mouth but was cut off by Bill "I really don't mind filling you in, but we probably should do it in the open."

Ara and Charlie nodded in agreement. "We'll talk about it another time," Ara said, squeezing Charlie's hand once more unsure of when that other time would be.

* * *

They had spent most of the day at the sanctuary. The portkey wouldn't be leaving until the evening. Charlie had made a day of it, telling Ara it was all in celebration of her birthday. She had been surprised when he had thrown a party for her. While most people who were there, were there because they were friends with Charlie, they all seemed rather interested to meet her. It seemed Charlie had talked about her quite a bit and of course they had all heard about how she did in the tournament.

She stepped outside into the brisk air. She needed a break from the questions and from the heat of the room. As she stared over Charlie's small porch, she couldn't help the longing burning in her stomach. The desire to live there, not only with him but with the dragons.

"Are you alright?" Charlie asked, leaning up against the railing beside her.

Ara nodded "of course… just wishing I didn't have to leave."

Charlie sighed and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist and turning her to face him. "Do you want me to come home with you?" he asked quietly.

Ara looked at him confused. Did he mean permanently? Or just for the night?

Charlie laughed "I never thought I'd leave my dragons, but part of me feels like I need to be in England with you… and my family."

He did mean permanently then. Ara shook her head "no, you should stay… this is your home and I couldn't ask you to leave."

Charlie nodded, he seemed almost disappointed by her answer.

Ara ran her hand across his face "I'd love nothing more than to see you every day and be here with you and hopefully someday I can do that… I think there'll come a time when you have to come back to England, but I also think you should take care of your dragons and your work family as long as you can. They need you too. Besides I'm sure there's something you can do for the Order from here."

Charlie smiled sadly "Dumbledore's asked me to start gaining foreign supporters. He thinks there'll be a war and when that happens, we'll need as much support as we can get."

Ara sighed and nodded "then you have your work cut out for you."

Charlie closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tender kiss. There was no heat, but there was passion. It seemed they were trying to fit month's worth of comfort into that kiss for they didn't know how long it would be until they saw each other again.

The clearing of a throat broke them apart.

"Sorry, but we have to get to the portkey," Bill said, walking off the porch and heading through the front yard.

Ara and Charlie smiled sadly but made their way to follow him. They made their way back to the rec center and into one of the traveling offices. Inside the room stood a lone bucket.

Charlie pulled Bill into a hug each of them patting each other on the backs.

"Thanks Billy," Charlie said quietly.

Bill pulled back and clapped him on the shoulder "anytime little brother." He glanced at Ara "I think the two of us have some work to do when we get back," he said.

Ara knew what he meant. He meant her lineage and possibly the discussion of Voldemort.

Charlie nodded and looked away. "I wish I could be there with both of you for it," he said before turning to Ara.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Keep me updated," he said. "we'll find a better way to talk than by letters."

Ara chuckled as they pulled apart "that'd be great…" Charlie gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, one that held promise, promise for more in the future.

"Don't forget that Dragon handling is much cooler than curse breaking…" Charlie said. He smirked at Ara's frown and Bill's groan.

Ara turned to Bill and rolled her eyes before hitting Charlie on the chest. "Don't be daft, there's only one red head for me."

"Please," Bill said from near the bucket "I'm letting you have her Charlie… I could get her if I wanted her… and curse breaking is thrilling, have you ever been chased by a mummy?"

Charlie snorted "have you ever been chased by a fire breathing dragon?"

Bill simply glared. It was clear this was a common argument.

"I'll do my best Char, not to steal your girl," Bill said with a smirk, pulling Ara to his side.

Ara rolled her eyes, leaning forward and kissing Charlie once more. "I'm pretty sure it's my decision."

The bucket started to glow, both Bill and Ara reached out to touch it.

"Stay safe," Charlie said more so to Ara than Bill, "No more storms!" he added as they felt the familiar hook behind their navel as they were sucked through space. Ara landed upright, laughing as Bill landed in a heap on the ground.

"I hate portkeys." He said, standing up and brushing off his pants.

She looked around, they were in front of a house. It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic. Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, the burrow. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"It may not be a fancy manor like you're used to but it's home," Bill said.

Ara stepped closer part of her dreading going into the house considering Molly would be there and she wasn't entirely sure she'd be welcome. Part of her was excited to see the place Charlie had grown up.

"It's lovely," she said honestly. "Believe it or not Manor's aren't always what they're cracked up to be… 'don't go beneath the stairs Ara', 'no running in the house Ara', 'Stop breathing so loud Ara', 'don't touch anything that shines Ara', 'stop stealing my silver and giving it to your friends to sell so you can sneak into the world cup stadium Ara," she said, mimicking her uncle.

Bill laughed "that sounds awful… you snuck into the world cup stadium?"

Ara nodded "it was brilliant… we played quidditch there before the actual players."

"Wish I would have known you back then," Bill said before opening the door to the Burrow.

It was very cluttered inside, there seemed to be stuff in every nook in cranny, the walls were covered in poor art that she could only assume had been done by the kids. Nevertheless, the home was welcoming, comfortable even. She couldn't help smiling fondly as she thought of the house. It was clear that this house had been lived in and wasn't some stuffy old manor. It was clear that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley loved their children and that it was the love that came first.

"Bill! Where have you been? I was expecting you back last night," came the voice of Molly Weasley.

Ara took a step back, suddenly feeling guilty. She had kept him out and although he was in his twenties, it was natural his mum would worry.

"Sorry mum," Bill said with a small smile kissing his mother on the cheek.

Molly stilled at the sight of Ara.

"It's a pleasure to see you again missus Weasley," she said softly.

Molly nodded "you as well… although it's a bit of a surprise. I hadn't realized you two were… friends."

It was clear what she was thinking, and Ara couldn't blame her. It was suspicious considering she'd been out all night with Bill.

"Bill was nice enough to take me out for my birthday," she added, hoping it eased her worries.

"And does Charlie know?" she snapped.

"Of course, mum, we met up with him last night… I didn't think Ara should go all that way alone considering the danger she's in."

Molly hummed thinking over the information.

"The Potter's seemed worried, they sent word last night to see if she was here," Molly added.

Ara grimaced and Bill groaned "it was my fault… She didn't really know what was going on and I surprised her with the portkey. I forgot to let the Potter's know, but I'll straighten it up with them," he added.

She offered him a small smile, she wasn't sure why he was taking the blame for the previous night, but it was clear he didn't want her to be on anyone's bad side.

"and how did you get that bruise young man?"

This time Bill grimaced; it was clear he had forgotten about the large bruise on his face.

"Oh… um"

"Don't you lie to me Bill Weasley," Molly said with her hands on her hips.

"I'm afraid _that _was my fault," Ara said. "we were playing this muggle game and I accidently hit him in the face with a ball… none of us had thought to pack bruising salve."

"you ought to be more careful," Molly said quietly.

"Of course," Ara responded with a small smile.

"Ara should probably get back mum, you don't mind if we use the floo?"

"Of course not dear," she said pulling an apron off the counter and wrapping it around her waist.

"Thank you Missus Weasley," Ara said following Bill into the living room.

"Oh… Ara," Molly added before the two disappeared into the other room. "We're having dinner here on Sunday if you'd like to come... the Potters are coming as well."

She smiled brightly "thank you that'd be lovely."

With a small wave Ara followed bill into the comfortable living room and through the fireplace to the Potter's. She took a deep breath as she followed Bill through the flames, not wanting to face the Potters' questioning.

She stepped out of the fire and followed Bill through the living room and towards the kitchen, where Ara had suspected they were gathered.

Her suspicions had been right, all the adults were in the kitchen although it seemed Harry and Draco were doing something else.

"Hello," Bill said flashing them a charming smile before sitting at the table.

Ara took the seat next to him, trying to ignore the eyes drilling into the side of her head. "well it's late," she started "thank you for making sure I got home safely Bill, but you should probably head home."

Bill snorted "no way, you gave me the black eye, so I'm very much looking forward to you being scolded," he said pointing to his face.

Ara rolled her eyes and finally made eye contact with Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus. They were all looking at her with a mixture of confusion and worry. It seemed Sirius had a bit of anger in his eyes as well. Ara had to resist pushing into his mind to see what he was thinking.

"So would you like to start explaining," Lily said, her voice hard.

Ara grimaced "I really am sorry for worrying you," she said glancing at Bill.

"Well that's all fine and dandy, but you were gone for a day. We hadn't heard from you for twelve hours before we finally got word from Charlie and you told me you'd be back after an hour," James said.

"We are trying to keep you safe Ara… you owe us an explanation," Sirius said softly, making Ara cringe. She hadn't meant to hurt any of them, she was just so used to not answering to anyone.

"I had only meant to be gone for an hour" she said, sending a small glare towards Bill. "I went to the bank where I ran into Bill and afterwards, he offered to take me out for my birthday." At that the other occupants of the room grimaced, still feeling bad about not realizing it was her birthday.

"We were there late," Ara said with a shrug. "We had a bit too much to drink and when we left I made us a portkey to Romania… I guess my drunk brain wanted to see Charlie."

James and Sirius frowned, exchanging a look that suggested they didn't believe her.

"So how did you get that shiner Bill?" Sirius asked.

Bill grimaced "we were playing this muggle game and Ara hit me in the face with a ball… she denies it but I'm pretty certain it was intentional."

Ara rolled her eyes and shook her head, she wasn't sure why they couldn't just be honest with the Potters, but part of her was scared they wouldn't understand. That they would be upset she had caused a storm. Part of her was worried they might suspect what her true parentage was if she said too much.

"And that's all that happened last night?" Sirius asked staring intently at her, almost as though he were trying to see right through her.

Ara shrugged "pretty much… "

Sirius scoffed and shook his head "alright we'll see you later Weasley," he said before standing and leaving the room.

Bill frowned and sent Ara a reassuring look. "See you this weekend Lestrange," he said pulling her into a brief hug before disappearing into the other room.

Ara glanced at the Potters only briefly before following in the direction Sirius went.

She found him in the lounge pouring himself a small glass of single malt whiskey.

"I wish you wouldn't do me the deservice of lying to me… I'm not stupid, I was your age once and I was about as rebellious as they come," He said as he turned, handing her a glass in the process.

She sighed and sipped the burning liquid before sitting on chase lounge. "I'm generally a private person Sirius, I don't think there's anyone alive you knows everything about me."

"I'm not asking you to tell me every lie you've ever told, I'm asking you to tell me the truth about what happened. We were worried… I was worried. You can't keep keeping everything to yourself, we are here to protect you and believe it or not we all care about your well-being and your happiness. So cut the crap and stop lying."

Ara downed the rest of her glass in a single gulp causing Sirius to snort and pour her a second.

"I went to see Bill at the bank," she said slowly. "I was upset when I was leaving so he took me to a muggle bar in London… We were sloshed, both of us and he got into it with some muggle, so we left. I was even angrier so I apparated us to the beach, lost control of my magic and we almost drowned so Bill used some special for of apparition and we ended up in Romania."

Sirius stared at her hard "alright, that was the truth but I believe you are missing some important details," he said, sitting beside her on the chair. "why were you upset after the bank?"

She shook her head "I… I don't know I'm ready to talk about that…"

Sirius sighed "did you run out of money? Because if you did I can give you some,"

Ara shook her head and laughed "no, I still inherited all of the Lestrange family vaults… I have more than enough money and heirlooms and homes."

He paused momentarily "does this have something to do with that box that was hidden in your dresser?"

Ara frowned, tapping her pocket to make sure it was still there. "How'd you know about that?"

Sirius smiled and shrugged "I have my ways."

Ara rolled her eyes "well then yes I suppose it did."

"Is it filled with dark artifacts?" he asked.

It was clear he wasn't going to let up on the subject.

"I'm not getting involved in anything dangerous Sirius."

"So then why are you so intent on leaving me out of the loop."

She sighed in frustration "because, I don't know how I feel about it."

He nudged her encouraging her to tell him.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm just not ready to talk about it," she said firmly.

He smiled sadly, but thankfully dropped the subject. "so why did Bill get into it with some muggle?"

She sighed, it shouldn't have been hard to talk about, but it had brought back so many unwanted memories. Memories that she seemed to be thinking about a lot lately.

"I had asked some douche to dance with me so Bill could get this girl… he got a bit handsy and before I could make a fool of myself and react magically, Bill attacked him… believe it or not, he did come out on top."

Sirius looked upset "some muggle touched you?"

She glanced at the door to the kitchen, hoping that the other three hadn't heard. "I'd rather not everyone know what happened," she said quickly.

Sirius frowned "why not? They care about you – "

"Its embarrassing," she said, emptying the contents of her glass, letting the contents burn her throat. "I let some muggle touch me, put myself in that situation, I'd just rather it stay between us… and Bill and Charlie."

Sirius frowned, but sat next to her, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "I don't think they would think any less of you," he said reassuringly "but I won't say anything if you really don't want me to."

"Thanks" she said quietly, leaning her head back against his arm. She paused, knowing he was waiting for the rest of the story. "I started that storm last night," she nearly whispered, gladly accepting the addition to her empty glass.

"What?" he asked, a disbelieving smirk forming on his face.

Ara shrugged "I didn't know I could do it, I was just so angry at everything that happened, I lost control and before I knew it there was a ten foot wave right in front of me… aurors appeared and Bill got us out of there."

Sirius simply stared with his mouth gaping open. "well shit," he said with a small laugh. "In all my years of being rebellious, I never started a storm..." he said with a kind smile showing he wasn't upset in the slightest.

Ara smiled back, sipping her drink. "The papers were trying to guess if it was a new dark lord…"

"they were trying to figure out if it was a new dark lord or a new warrior… I think that decision is yours."

She sat in silence for a moment, she was grateful that Sirius didn't seem to think any less of her. She shook her head, Connor had been right last year, she needed to stop caring what they all thought of her. If the day came when they feared her or hated her, well she'd cross that bridge then.

She sighed "I need to talk to Dumbledore," she said quietly smiling in response to Sirius' large grin that was widening on his face.

"You're in luck, there's a meeting here tomorrow evening… I'll let him know that you want to speak with him before hand." He tightened his arm around her shoulders and leaned over, kissing her on the side of the head.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a weird tingling sensation that she had in the pit of her stomach; one she'd probably consider to be butterflies. She wasn't certain why she was so nervous, but she supposed it had something to do with the active role she was taking against the people who raised her.

She was one of the first at the meeting, Bill was sitting beside her and Tonks across from her. The other seats were empty, she was surprised even the Potters and Sirius weren't there considering it was there house. It wasn't as though they had far to travel.

"How do these meetings usually go?" she asked the other two.

Tonks shrugged but Bill responded, "he gets updates from everyone, see if anyone's made progress, then talks about what more we need to do," he said simply.

They sat in silence for only a few moments longer before the room began to fill. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw that the room was filled with people who she knew. The order was complete with the Weasleys, the Potters, Sirius, Remus, Mad-eye Moody, Severus Snape, and Minerva McGonagall.

"it seems small," she whispered to Bill.

"This isn't everyone… Some meetings there are more people, it all depends who's in attendance." At her frown he continued "Not everyone knows about Snape being a spy, so if he's here certain people are gone, such as Mundungus and Professor Sprout…"

"Does he not trust them?" she figured that wasn't a good way to gain allies. Trust had the power to either draw people together or tear them apart.

Bill shrugged "I think he does, but maybe he doesn't think it's necessary for everyone to be in the know… Don't keep your eggs in the same basket, eh?"

Ara snorted.

"Thank you everyone for coming," Dumbledore said, his usual ever-present twinkle in his eyes as he glanced around the room. "I'd like to welcome our newest member, Miss Ara Lestrange."

She got warm smiles from everyone in the room, even got a cheer from Tonks who was shushed with a glare from Snape. The only person who didn't greet her warmly was the one man that made her skin crawl.

"Are we sure she's safe Albus?" Mad-eye asked.

Ara sent him a glare. While she could understand his hesitation, she did _technically_ save the guys life. Plus, _he _hadn't been entirely safe last year.

"I trust Ara, Alastor," Dumbledore said kindly, sending Ara a meaningful look.

"She saved Harry," James said simply fiddling with his mug on the table.

"She saved the muggles at the Quidditch World Cup," Sirius said proudly.

Ara looked at him sharply before shrugging. It didn't really matter anymore whether or not people knew about that.

"All I'm saying is she's a Lestrange and it would be the lengths a Death Eater would go to get someone on our side," he reasoned.

"And what Death Eater would that have been Moody?" Ara asked sharply. "Most of the Death Eaters denied Voldemort's return until he was standing in front of him…. My uncle is too stupid to think like that, or perhaps you think it was his most faithful servant… the one who I killed in your classroom after he took over your body." It was a harsh statement, but it seemed to get her point across. He grunted but otherwise remained silent.

"To catch you up to date Ara, we have two primary goals at the moment," Dumbledore began, his eyes still twinkling madly. "Our first is that we are protecting a prophecy in the hall of prophecies in the Ministry of Magic.

She frowned "what's the prophecy of?" She had never really put much weight to divination.

The table seemed to still as they glanced at each other. "It is believed to be a way to defeat Voldemort," Sirius said.

"So why are we protecting it? Why not listen to it and use it to our advantage?"

"It's only made out to three people," Sirius said with a hesitant glance towards James. "Harry and Voldemort are the only two alive."

Ara raised her eyebrows, her stomach twisting into knots. "What does Harry have to do with defeating Voldemort?"

James shook his head, a grimace overtaking his face "we've only heard part of it, but we believe Harry is the only one who can defeat him."

Her mouth dropped open "he's not even fifteen yet!"

The others around the table shrugged, it seemed they shared her sentiment. Seeing the glances shared between the Potters and Dumbledore made Ara realize that there was more to the story that they weren't being told.

"Voldemort heard part of the prophecy years ago, he missed half of it. It is imperative that we keep him from retrieving it." Dumbledore explained.

"Wouldn't it be easier if Harry just went and took it?" she asked with a shrug.

The others shared another look "Harry doesn't know the prophecy… and we'd like to keep it that way as long as possible," James said although his eyes held guilt that he didn't quite agree with what he was saying.

Ara disagreed, while she didn't entirely believe in divination, she knew there were true seers out there and if Dumbledore believed the prophecy held some weight, well he was probably right.

"Well who was the third person it was made out to?" she asked.

"Alaina," James said quickly, tapping his fingers on his mug once more.

She nodded, while she thought it would be easier if Harry was made aware, she understood why they made the decision they did.

"That brings us to our second goal," Dumbledore continued, glancing around the room through his half-moon spectacles once more. "We need to gather followers… or rather we need to keep people from following Voldemort."

Ara nodded remembering what Charlie had said.

"Charlie is of course working on gaining international supporters, particularly in Romania and Bulgaria. Hagrid will be leaving this year from his position as gamekeeper to visit with the giants… Of course, James, Sirius, and Arthur are working within the ministry and Bill is working on the goblins – "

"Is this an area where you can contribute Lestrange?" Moody cut across him. He didn't sound harsh, or degrading, but rather like he was trying to teach her something.

"I-I'm not sure," She said hesitantly. For one of the first times in her life she wasn't sure how she could contribute. "I can help you guard the prophecy I suppose but I'm not terribly popular in any community."

Dumbledore offered her a small smile but shook his head "I can't have you guarding the prophecy Ara, I'm sorry… It is too dangerous to expose you to the Death Eaters like that."

"I suggest you use your head Lestrange, I'm sure you'll think of something," Moody said giving her a pointed look.

She shrunk in her seat, glancing at the scratches on the table before her. She wasn't sure what he thought she could do. She could fight, she could train, but connections weren't her strong suit. She had worked hard on ignoring politics and although she understood it, she was never particularly successful at winning people over. Most of her professors hated her, she had a horrible reputation and it wasn't simply because of her mother.

"I suppose I have some connections in Bulgaria," She suggested softly thinking sadly of her friends.

Dumbledore offered her a small smile, "I'm certain you'll find you can influence far more than you realize," he said. "On another note, Severus, what is it that you have to report?"

Snape's eyes remained on Ara as he spoke "He's gained followers within the ministry. I don't have any names, but I know there is someone within the administrative offices to the minister. He is also sent envoy to the giants and is confident that they will respond favorably."

"What seems to be his primary goal at the moment?" Mad-eye asked.

Snape sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from her. "Ara…. Recruiting Ara. He has plans though no one in his circle know what they entail. He's very quiet about it but keeps saying 'soon Ara will be at my side in her rightful place…' it's almost an obsession" he said. His eyes were grim as he stared at his used to be niece.

The others shared varying looks of worry. Ara felt as though a weight had dropped into her stomach. She shared a look with Bill who wore a grimace. He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder, offering her as much reassurance as possible. Neither of them were worried about Ara changing sides or about what Voldemort had planned, but rather they were worried as to _why_ Voldemort believed her rightful place was at his side.

"Any idea why he wants you so badly Lestrange?" Moody asked, both his eyes locked onto her and Bill.

She shrugged "because I'm bloody powerful."

Sirius snorted "and bloody modest." He smiled at her, reassuring her that he was kidding.

She shrugged once more and was saved by responding from Bill who spoke up on her behalf "It's true though, as far as skills go in regard to fighting, I'm certain that Ara could give Dumbledore a run for his money, no offense sir."

"None taken, Ara is an incredibly powerful witch," he said giving her a meaningful look. Ara could practically her him referencing the storm, as absurd as it sounded.

"plus, she grew up in their lifestyle… she's pureblood and was raised a Malfoy. She's the daughter of two of his most loyal supporters," Bill continued. "He wouldn't really need another reason to want her on his side."

She was taken off guard. She and Bill had been on such shaky ground in the past, to hear him defend her entirely and offer support was touching. She knew they had quickly crossed some sort of bounds as friends.

The conversations had dwindled, changing topics from Ara to guard duty. It seemed she and Snape were the only ones exempt from guard duty, everyone else had the days they were scheduled.

When the meeting was finished, the others gathered their work and began to make their exit.

"we usually stay for dinner… well everyone except Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape," Bill said.

She nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. "James," she said quietly.

He turned and with one look at her he sighed. When it was just the two of them left in the room he started "you're thinking I should tell Harry," he said as though he had had the conversation many times before.

"I realize he's young, but if he's supposed to have something to do with this war don't you think he has the right to know?"

He ran his hands through his hair "he's fourteen –"

"Nearly fifteen… he'll be furious with you when he finds out."

"I understand that Ara, but you have to understand that I don't put much weight into divination. We haven't heard the full prophecy and truth be told, when it comes down to it, I'm not letting my son face Voldemort," he said passionately. "Screw the prophecy, he'll only face him over my dead body."

Ara sighed; it wasn't her decision to make. She only knew how she'd feel if she were the one a prophecy had been made about.

"you won't tell him, will you?" James asked.

"Of course not," she answered quickly. "It's not my decision and frankly it has nothing to do with me… Is the prophecy why they came after Alaina?" she asked softly.

"I don't know for certain… we were targets because of it. The prophecy could have referred to a couple of children, but Harry was one of them. I can only assume it was the reason they went after her."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, guild still stirring in her stomach at the thought.

James stood and pulled her into a hug, much to her surprise. Sirius always treated her like family, but James wasn't particularly affectionate towards her. She gripped him back tightly, the feeling was almost familiar.

"It's not your fault… no matter what your bloody uncle said" James squeezed her even tighter "you know we won't let Voldemort get you right?" he said quietly.

Ara sighed, if only he knew her worry in regard to him. "I know," she said.

"Is everything alright?"

Ara pulled back, it seemed Lily had come back to check on them. She wore a kind smile, but Ara could see the worry in her eyes.

"Sorry," Ara said quickly.

"Are you worried?" Lily asked "About Voldemort? Because you know we'll protect you-"

"Don't," Ara said quickly, looking at both of them. "Protect Harry…. And Draco, but I can handle my own."

"you always say that, but everyone needs help- "James said.

"I understand that… truly," Ara said. "but I don't want anyone else to be risked in my protection… I'm eighteen and if somehow Voldemort gets to me I can guarantee you that I will not take his side and if I die then I'll find a way to come back and ensure he can't get his hands on Draco or Harry," she said, the other two chuckled softly in response. "I mean honestly, what would you two say if I told you I'd protect you?"

James and Lily shared a look "we'd tell you not to," Lily said softly with a small nod.

"Well there you have it," Ara said with a smirk. "Shall we get dinner?" she asked ending the conversation before heading to the kitchen, missing the look that passed between the two.

She took her seat next to Bill "thank you," she said quietly not offering details.

Bill simply smiled in response "what are brothers for?" he asked.

Ara felt her breath catch in her throat and did her best not to tear up. Bloody emotions. They were such a new thing she was experiencing more and more often.

* * *

She sat in the living room, several letters laid out in front of her, not that she was paying much attention to them. She found it increasingly difficult to think of anything other than Voldemort, her lineage, and the Order. It had been three days since the order meeting and she was determined to help in any way necessary, especially if it meant keeping Harry safe for as long as possible. She certainly couldn't seem to focus on work, or what she wanted to do for work. Part of her wondered if it would be too horrible if she _didn't_ work. She didn't need the money after all. It wasn't as though her uncle did any real work.

The room was cozy, like most nights the small group were lounging. Remus was over, playing chess with Lily while James was reading and Sirius was laying upside down on the couch, flipping through a magazine. The only ones gone were Harry and Draco. She had entertained the thought of finding them, they seemed to be gone most days, spending hour after hour in the library. She wanted to know what they were up to, but she was also grateful that they seemed to be getting on so well. Just the other day they were finishing each other's thoughts. She didn't want to interrupt the flourishing friendship.

A chime was heard throughout the house, the others shared a look. It was nearly 10pm and they weren't expecting anyone. Sirius flipped off the couch and he and James went to check the door.

"Bill, we weren't expecting you," Lily said with a large welcoming smile when James and Sirius returned with him.

"Sorry Lily," he said with a guilty smile before turning to Ara. "can we talk?... privately" he asked softly.

Ara couldn't quite place his look, he seemed tired, possibly upset. "Is everything alright with Charlie?" she asked quickly, her mind jumping to worst case scenario.

Bill rolled his eyes "well no, my darling little brother has the _worst_ taste in women-"

"shove off," Ara said with a snort, but stood, gathering her letters and grabbing a blanket.

"my room or outside?" she asked.

"Outside," Bill answered quickly "I don't want you trying to seduce me or take advantage," he said with a small smirk.

Ara turned and hit him in the shoulder "you are ridiculous… Why on earth would I want to take advantage of you when you look like a pig's arse?"

Bill gasped, putting his hand on his chest "I have never been so insulted in my life."

Ara shook her head "you don't listen much then do you?"

"I hate you," Bill said with a straight face.

"Why? I'm lovely…" she responded causing Bill to smile. The others in the room laughed at the scene but remained curious about the two of them and their friendship.

They made their way to the back yard and sat in the comfortable chairs on the deck. Ara offered Bill a blanket, while it was summer, the night breeze was chilling.

"Is everything aright?" she asked, checking back to make sure they weren't being listened to.

"I think so," Bill said with a sigh. "I just got off guard duty and I have the tendency of overthinking when I'm there."

"what were you overthinking about?"

Bill shrugged "Voldemort."

She nudged his arm when he didn't respond.

Bill sighed "Maybe we're looking in the wrong places for how to defeat him…"

She curled both her legs underneath her "where should we look?"

"well we know that Voldemort didn't die that night he went to the Potters and Dumbledore believes the curse rebounded onto him, that would mean he was hit with the killing curse… There's got to be a way he survived that curse… I think if we were to go and cut off his head, he still wouldn't be dead."

She sighed, it made sense. He had made the claim that he had gone further than all others in evading death. Plus there was the ritual that he completed to gain back his body, "So where should we be looking?"

"I don't know… it's probably some obscure dark magic that nobody knows about."

"Do you think Dumbledore knows?" She asked, she always had the feeling that that man knew more than he let on.

Bill shook his head "He might have an idea, but I don't think he knows for certain… he usually tells others when he is certain."

"I'm sure the Lestrange homes have some obscure dark magic books," she suggested. "I could look."

Bill thought about the offer "I should come with you… we don't know how safe those houses are."

Ara nodded "I told the goblins no one was to have access to the vaults or homes, but you are welcome to come."

They sat in comfortable silence for a short while, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

"I met someone recently, who you know…" Bill said a slight blush staining his cheeks.

"Hm… must be a girl." She said with a small smirk.

Bill nodded "blonde, French, Veela…"

"Fleur?" she asked surprised, she hadn't realized she was back in England.

"She wanted me to tell you 'hello' and that she'd be writing to you soon because she's decided to move to England after all."

A large smile blossomed on her face "and you clearly have a crush."

Bill scoffed "I do not."

She rolled her eyes "Alright then, you don't have a crush but you think she's gorgeous and smart and perfect."

"Well," Bill said with a shrug not denying it.

"I'm glad," Ara said sitting back in her seat once more "Fleur helped a lot last year… I might not have made it through the year without her and Cedric."

"I didn't realize you all were so close," Bill said.

She shrugged "the competition brought us together… Harry too… We knew from the beginning that something horrible was happening. By the end we knew we were fighting for our lives." She explained, her voice catching in her throat at the thought of Cedric. His life had been so unfairly taken and she missed him. She'd been avoiding thinking about him.

"I'm sorry. The tournament was supposed to be fun, something to fight for."

Ara shrugged "it would have been had it not been for Voldemort."

Bill reached across and grabbed her hand tightly in his. "you don't have to feel guilty," Bill said. "About anything that happened last year or about Voldemort or about your lineage. I know this is odd coming from me, but you aren't who raised you and no matter what you do or how you do it, it doesn't change the fact that you're a good person."

She smiled, "it does seem odd coming from you… you hated me only a month ago."

Bill snorted "I never hated you, but my little brother has always been one of the strongest people I know. He's so different from _everyone _in my family. He's got a pure heart, he's giving, and he's even tempered. So, to see him broken hearted, it was hard to watch." He said with a shrug. She was grateful he didn't hold back; she knew she had hurt Charlie, but it hurt to know just how much.

He squeezed her hand tighter "you hurt yourself too," he added in reassurance. "I would have done the same thing had I been tortured and had the person I loved been threatened."

She nodded "He'd never gotten the drop on me before, well not since I was young anyways. It scared me that he could torture me, I always thought I was too powerful for him…. I suppose everyone can be brought down by something though, no matter how powerful."

The two of them sat in silence, gaining comfort from each other as they processed what had been said. While Ara's words had been made regarding her, there was more to it. If they applied to her, they also applied to Voldemort, and Dumbledore. People who seemed nearly invincible. With that knowledge they made plans to go further into Ara's vaults, into her homes, and into an inheritance that never should have been hers, not knowing what would await them.

* * *

True to her word, Ara had been far safer than when she initially moved in. She had only made two trips to the bank, one to see Fleur and the other to take some of the books in her family vaults. Both trips someone in the order had gone with her under disguise. They didn't want anyone thinking Ara was a part of the order or that she was under their protection.

She knew Draco was becoming stir crazy. He'd been cooped up in the house since they arrived back from Hogwarts. They were worried that should they leave, Lucius would be there and demand to take Draco home. It was a risk no one was willing to take.

"What if we left the country?" Draco asked. They were sitting around the kitchen table, Draco fidgeting restlessly, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Harry hasn't left this summer either," Ara suggested, she wanted him safe. She wasn't willing to risk it.

"I've been to the Weasleys," Harry said with a shrug.

"What if you spent a few days at the Weasleys?" Lily suggested "that place has enchantments, since Harry goes to visit… it's also probably the last place they'd expect you to be… That and the muggle world."

Ara thought momentarily, the Weasleys would be safe, it wasn't as though Uncle Lucius could simply demand entrance, not with Voldemort continuing his existence in hiding. The muggle world was probably also somewhat safe.

"Well?" she asked Draco who wore a bit of a grimace.

"They don't like me… jealous or something," Draco said arrogantly although Ara could tell there was insecurity and sadness underlying his voice. With a glance at Harry, who rolled his eyes, it seemed he realized it too.

"Ron likes you well enough," Harry insisted "Hermione does too and she's staying there for the rest of the holidays. It'll be fun, they have a pond and a small muggle village right down the road. Missus Weasley is amazing and she'll feed you til you pop."

Draco wore a small smile; it did sound fun.

"I'm sure Ara can come too," Harry suggested with a smirk at Ara's frown. "For safety and all," he suggested.

She hadn't made it to that Weasley dinner last weekend, she'd come down with a bit of a cold. She was nervous about spending so much time over there, she didn't want to get on anyone's bad side.

"Fine, I'll go if Ara goes," Draco said.

Ara looked between Draco and Harry; they both wore similar looks of pleading. If Draco wanted to go, she wasn't going to stop him, so she agreed. With the Weasley's permission, they'd spend the next weekend there, which happened to be the weekend of Harry's Birthday.

On Friday they used the floo network. They received rather stiff welcomes from the Weasleys. She was certain it was hard for them, considering how horrible her uncle was to them. Even Draco had been horrible to them over the last few years.

"Draco dear you and Harry will be in Ron's room, Ara I'll have you share with Ginny and Hermione, Ron you'll share with Bill," Mrs. Weasley said to the group.

Ginny seemed most excited to see the two of them. She offered Ara a large smile as she led her through the house to her room. The room itself was small, the walls were painted pink although it seemed Ginny wasn't too fond of the color for she taped large posters on her walls, covering most of it up.

"You like the harpies?" Ara asked pointing to one of her posters.

"I do," she said quickly, sitting on her bed closest to the door. "I think I'd like to play for them when I graduate."

"Yeah? Charlie says your quite the quidditch player," she said walking over to the window. It was a beautiful view, all countryside. There was a large orchard just outside, Charlie had told her they would all play quidditch out there when growing up. She looked back at Ginny who had a faint blush, but a pleased smile. Ara remembered that Charlie had also told her most of the brothers didn't give Ginny the time of day when it came to playing quidditch.

She put her stuff down next to the third bed, closest to the window. She was surprised three beds fit in the small room, although she figured it could have been magically enlarged somewhat.

"How about you? Draco says that you're excellent at quidditch."

Ara laughed "Draco also thinks that _he _is an excellent seeker." Ginny laughed; they both knew it wasn't true. "Don't get me wrong, he's not bad at quidditch, but he was always a better beater than seeker."

"Why'd he choose to be seeker then?" Ginny asked.

Ara shrugged "his arch nemesis was a seeker for the rival team… who knows."

"Well they aren't exactly nemesis anymore."

Ara nodded "it'll certainly be an interesting school year."

"Well if any of his snake friends don't agree, I'll take care of them," Ginny said and the look in her eye told Ara that Ginny Weasley wasn't someone to be messed with. She smiled at the girl, she was glad others would be watching out for Draco while at that school.

She was sitting by the pond, enjoying the peace and quiet. That was one thing growing up in a stuffy manor that she appreciated, it was _quiet._ This wasn't something that could be said for the Weasley household. While part of her was fond of the pranks, shouting and overall rambunctiousness of the Weasleys, the other part of her longed for the quiet. Potter Manor could be loud at times, but not nearly as much as this.

She continued flipping through the pages of her book. She knew there wasn't anything in it that talked of immortality, but she found it fascinating none the less.

"Charms of the twenty-first century?" Bill asked as he sat next to her, glancing at the cover of her book.

"Not exactly," Ara said waving her hand, so the true title showed: 'creatures of the dark.'

"ah, makes more sense… anything interesting?" he asked as the cover changed once more.

"just reading about Dementors… it's no wonder Dumbledore suggested they be moved from Azkaban… in the wrong hands they really are quite dangerous."

Bill nodded "they'll go to whoever can offer them more and generally light wizards can't offer them much."

Ara sighed; she hoped the ministry pulled its head out of its ass soon enough. She didn't want to see her mother again; she was perfectly content with her being locked up in that place.

"I don't understand how people can put them in a position where they're useful, protecting citizens, and then absolutely alienate werewolves who are only dangerous once a month… Dementors are dangerous twenty-four seven."

Bill shrugged "doesn't make much sense to me either."

"anyways," Ara said offering him a small smile. "What's up?"

"well… I believe I've found you someone who can help."

She frowned "with what?"

"your lineage… he's a wizard who spent many years studying in Egypt, he left a couple years ago and retired in the muggle world, somewhere in Ireland."

Ara let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding "and you think he can help?"

Bill nodded "he's well regarded, very trustworthy. I've met him once, but I have friends who say that he's the best of the best when it comes to curses… but apparently he studied under the late Gerald Kline and learned everything there is to know about genealogy."

"that's great," she said, "when can we see him?"

"Well… I didn't want to risk sending an owl, so I thought it'd be best to go in person…. We can go next weekend if you'd like?"

She nodded "that'd be great."

"all you have to do is think of what to tell the Potters and Sirius," Bill said with a smirk before leaving Ara to her thoughts.

* * *

"Gin you've got to stop moving," Ara said with a laugh as she swiped the black pencil across the young girl's eyelid.

"It feels weird… and I'm certain you'll poke me in the eye."

Ara rolled her eyes but stayed quiet, finishing the task at hand. When she was finished, she handed Ginny a dress and turned her back to her to give the girl some privacy as she changed. She knew Ginny was on the shy side when it came to her body.

"Shall we?" she asked as Ginny checked herself over in the mirror, flattening down her dress and messing with her braid that spread down her front to her mid torso.

"I'm ready," she said, following Ara out the room and down the stairs to where the others were waiting.

They had decided to go and see a movie and have dinner out. It was risky, but they made sure the number of adults was equal to the number of those underage.

"alright stay in pairs! No one should be without someone else," Molly said to the group.

James sighed, it seemed he thought it was a bit overkill, but went with it anyways. "Harry with me, Draco with Sirius, Ginny is with Ara, Ron with Bill, Hermione with Lily, and Fred and George stick together."

Draco had a disguise, while they were willing to take him, they would rather be safe than sorry.

They left the safety of the small house and headed down the road to the local theatre. Draco was nearly bouncing on his feet next to Sirius. She knew he was excited; he'd grown to love the television and to see something similar on the big screen was indeed exciting.

The movie itself had been a good one, albeit somewhat scary. It was called 'ice cream man' and showed some crazy guy turning ungrateful kids into ice cream. They had made a pact afterwards not to tell Molly what they watched, considering the movie was rated R and they probably shouldn't have watched it in the first place.

They walked to the local restaurant; Ara threw her arm around Ginny as they made the trek. She found herself becoming fond of the young Gryffindor. She was feisty and clearly not afraid of anything. It was a wonder that Bill and Charlie had described her as a princess, if anything it seemed like Ginny had all her brothers wrapped around her finger. She would definitely grow to become a force to be reckoned with.

The restaurant was surprisingly crowded for a Friday night. There were families at the tables scattered around the room and local drunkards sitting at the bar. Some were playing pool, and others were dancing to the small muggle band that was playing. They split up as they took their seats around the room, taking the last two empty tables.

"we should play quidditch tomorrow," Fred said.

"we've nearly got a full team," George added.

What positions do you all play?" Ara asked.

"Beaters" Fred and George said at the same time.

"Ron and I are keepers. Gin, Charlie, Harry, and Hermione usually play chasers. If the Sirius and James play, they're chasers as well. With you two we should have enough for a full game if James and Sirius come back."

Ara nodded "Too bad Charlie isn't here; he and Harry could be seekers."

"They've gone against each other before; I think they're tied. Pretty equally matched," Ginny said.

"that's because – "

"Charlie plays dirty," Fred and George said, finishing each other's sentence.

Ara snorted "how does he play dirty?"

The twins glanced at each other "well we can't prove it," Fred said.

"But he uses an invisible dragon – "

"to help him."

Bill, who was sitting next to them, snorted in his drink. Ara gave them an exasperated look. While she knew her boyfriend loved dragons, she'd never heard of an invisible one, especially not one that would follow him around and help him catch a snitch.

"Was it one you created?" Ginny asked with a small smirk.

Fred and George shared a look "not yet little sis."

Dinner itself was enjoyable, Ara and Bill found themselves at the bar after a short while. She kept glancing back at Draco as though to make sure he was still there.

"You're telling me that you've actually snogged Fleur Delacour," Bill said, shooting back whiskey.

She laughed feeling the warmth spread to her cheeks. "we were wasted, and it didn't last long."

Bill had a dreamy look in his eyes, and she was certain he was thinking of Fleur.

"I also snogged Cedric," she said.

Bill's reaction was entirely different, his eyes widened, and mouth dropped "you're with my brother," he said quietly.

Ara rolled her eyes "I wasn't when I snogged him! I would never cheat on Charlie," she said adamantly.

"Hm… well I suppose I'll let it slide," he said with a small smirk "but only if you set me up on a date with Fleur."

She raised an eyebrow at him "and pray tell why I would do that?"

"So I don't tell Charlie," Bill said as though it were obvious.

"But I don't care if you tell Charlie… I'm not hiding it from him considering I didn't cheat on him… If I cheated on anyone it was Birch."

"Don't even get me started on that bastard," Bill grumbled taking a drink of a beer that was set in front of him, spilling some down his front.

"this is going to be like the other night isn't it? I'm going to dance with some guy and you'll get a shiner,"

Bill snorted "not a chance… you have no reason to dance with anyone because you are getting me a date with Fleur."

Ara laughed and shook her head. She thought they may actually make a good couple. Fleur was a bit conceited, but Bill handled arrogance well. Plus Bill had a bit of an edge, something that Ara thought Fleur needed in her life.

"you may have to think of a way to bribe me," she said. "Can I get two bottles of this stuff?" Ara asked the bartender.

When he returned with the liquor, Ara stepped into the bathroom and shrunk it before heading over to the tables where the others were at. They were all laughing heartily at something Sirius was saying and from the looks on James' face it was likely it had something to do with him.

When the laughter died out, James sighed, looking at his watch. "we should go," he said regretfully. It had been a rather enjoyable evening, especially after everything that had happened recently.

They made their way back to the burrow as a group, the younger generation tucked safely between those that were of age. It was unnecessary, for they made it back safe and sound. James and Sirius bid goodnight to everyone as they apparated back to Potter Manor, leaving the others.

The evening found Hermione and Ginny sitting on Ginny's bed giggling. Ara had just returned from the shower.

"What's so funny?" she asked, untucking the covers on her bed.

"nothing," Hermione said with a blush staining her cheeks, tucking a piece of paper into pajama pants.

Ara snorted "did Viktor write to you?"

Hermione's blush deepened, but she pulled back out the paper. "How'd you know?"

Ara shrugged "he told me he's been writing to you."

Hermione's face fell a little, but Ginny's perked up. "So you and Krum are super close?" At Ara's nod she continued "have you guys ever… you know…" she trailed off, her face a deep shade of red.

"Had sex? Shagged? Bumped uglies?" Ara asked with a smirk, enjoying making the girls uncomfortable. She hadn't really ever been like that, shy about sex. Then again, she hadn't had an innocent childhood like most. She knew Anna had been the same as them, innocent.

Ginny laughed, but Hermione's face fell even more.

"No," she said softly, offering Hermione a reassuring glance. "Viktor wasn't ever like that.. He didn't sleep around. Plus, he was always more of a brother to me…. Like Harry is to you Hermione."

Hermione offered her a relieved smile, while Ginny looked briefly disappointed before seeing the relief on her friends' face.

"So, have you ever?"

Ara raised an eyebrow "had sex?"

At Ginny's nod Ara laughed. "more times than I can count… I'm assuming neither of you have?" At their nods, Ara sighed. "Well don't follow in my footsteps, take your time."

"Have you ever done it with Charlie?" Hermione asked.

Ginny coughed; her eyes wide. Ara wasn't sure what she was thinking, she'd heard Charlie had been a bit of a player before he'd met her.

"What? You can't honestly say you aren't curious," Hermione asked at Ginny's look.

"No! he's my brother." Despite her words, Ginny looked at Ara to continue.

"This isn't going to be something that come back to bite me in the butt?"

The two of them shook their head and Ara nodded.

"What was it like? Did it hurt?"

Ara raised her eyebrows; she supposed the question was a valid one. It was something she may have asked at one point, but they couldn't possibly think Charlie had been her first.

"Not when I was with Charlie… but I suppose my first time hurt a bit… It's not bad though."

They shared a look, but thankfully refrained from asking more questions. "goodnight ladies," Ara said with a sigh flopping back into the bed and letting the two whisper between them. With one silencing spell, she was surrounded by quiet and let herself be lulled into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

"Morning," Bill said walking into the kitchen where Ara was helping Mrs. Weasley with the dishes. She was still working on getting on her good side, while Mrs. Weasley was a bit stand-offish towards her, she was kinder.

"Goodmorning dear, what are you off to do today?" she asked with one glance at her oldest son.

Bill kissed his mother on the cheek "Ara wanted to run into town and get Harry a gift." He sent Ara a small shake of his head in response to her questioning look. She hadn't said anything about that, but now that Bill brought it up, she was grateful for it.

"I'll get ready… thanks for breakfast missus Weasley," Ara said softly.

"Of course dear, thank you for your help," she said kindly.

Ara got ready quickly, pulling on one of her few pairs of muggle clothes. She said her goodbye to Draco who was sitting comfortably, talking with Arthur. She couldn't help but shake her head at the pair, Draco was hanging on his every word and she was certain it had something to do with muggles. Draco really seemed to be fascinated by them. Getting away from his father had done him a world of good.

She and Bill made their way to town. It was a small town, and non-magical which made hunting for a gift slightly more difficult. It limited their options. There were mostly antique shops, ranging from seashells to books to heirlooms to junk.

"the Potters have a television, right? You could get him this game thing?" Bill suggested holding up an old box that had a wire and another box with buttons attached to it.

"Nintendo?" Ara asked, reading the brand. Bill shrugged in response, putting it back down into the stack of unknown junk.

"How about a record player? You can get a muggle one and make it magical," he suggested, pointing to a player sitting on a stand.

"I think Tonks is getting him that," she said, glancing at the small stack of books. "Bill look at this."

Bill leaned over her shoulder "Dark Minds?" he asked.

There was no summary on the back and as she flipped through the book, she noticed that it wasn't a muggle book at all. It was filled with detailed descriptions of dark arts. The cover was worn, and it was clear the book was very old.

"What's that doing in a muggle shop?" Bill asked after Ara handed it to him.

"They probably don't realize what it is…"

Bill shook his head "this isn't a wizarding book either," he said, the book held only inches from his face as he read it intently. "well maybe it is, but it's not anything I recognize."

Ara rolled her eyes "it's about dark arts."

Bill nudged her "believe it or not, I know far more about the dark arts then you realize… It's not uncommon in Egypt."

She looked at him curiously, he had hated her so much before, but then she supposed that probably wasn't because of the dark arts, but because she was horrible to Charlie.

"Anyways, this isn't like anything I've seen before."

Ara sighed "well let's get it… its worth overturning every stone." She continued looking when something caught her eye. It was a woven bracelet, made of what looked to be thick brown thread. There were various jewels interwoven with it. She grabbed it and a small feeling of warmth overcame her.

"that's a protective bracelet," Bill said softly, looking at the Jewels closely. "They're ridiculously difficult to make and generally require a lot of magic. See the way these three stones are set up? It's supposed to help in the strength of the enchantment."

"So it'll protect whoever wears it?"

Bill nodded "I don't know that it could stop the cruciatus curse or the killing curse, but it could certainly stop other curses and jinxes."

She nodded, clenching it tightly in her fist. She'd give it to Harry, if anyone needed extra protection it was him.

The two of them made their way to the front of the store and paid the man a small chunk of change. He didn't seem to realize just how valuable the items were.

"Keep the change," Ara said hoarsely. The world had gone dark, it was through the sun had fell, making it near night.

"Bill," she said nervously staring outside. A haze had covered the city as dark streaks flew throughout.

"Shit," Bill said, shoving the book in his jacket as he ran out of the store.

Ara followed him closely, the haze and the streaks… they were Death Eaters and there was only one place they'd be going.

"Here," Bill said turning down an alley, with pop he was gone. Ara followed suit and appeared at the burrow to see an air of black smoke breaking through the wards and through one of the glass windows in the kitchen. More puffs of smoke followed, one flying into the upstairs window of what Ara knew to be Ron's room.

A scream brought them out of their musings and the two of them ran to the entrance.

"I have the kids," Ara shouted, racing towards the stairs while Bill raced toward the kitchen.

She took the stairs two at a time, flinging open the door to Ron's room. What she saw make her heart drop into her stomach as fear overwhelmed her. A man in a black hood stood, Harry clenched close to him his wand held to his throat.

"I've instructed the kiddies to back away," the man said to Ara as she entered.

"Avery," she said softly, her wand held straight in front, unwaveringly.

"Ara, such a pleasure to see you… and Lucius will be so happy to know where you've been keeping his son…"

She glanced at Draco who had fury written on every inch of his face. Avery had always been a dick, but she knew it was more than that.

"I doubt you'll be telling my uncle anything, doubt you'll make it there to be honest," she threatened.

He snorted "such arrogance… the Dark Lord will praise me when I bring the Potter brat to him, then he'll have no need for you. He'll be able to stop looking."

Ara shook her head "the only way you're getting Harry out of here is over my dead body…"

Avery frowned. It was then that Ara noticed the wands that were lying around him. Wands of the others. Clearly, they had lost them when he first broke in.

"Well I've got what I came for, so I'll be off," Avery said, gripping Harry's arm tighter as he made to apparate.

Ara didn't hesitate, she threw a curse a Harry, hitting him in the stomach, causing him to double over, not in pain, but hysterics. She took the temporary confusion on Avery's side to hit him in the face with a bone breaking curse. He screamed in pain, releasing Harry from his hold and gripping his face.

She rushed forward, grabbing Harry by the shirt and threw him back to his friends who caught him. She hit the wands piled on the ground and they flew back to their owners, each of whom held it in front of them.

"Hide Draco," she said to the small group behind her. They shoved Draco behind them, standing uniformly in front as though protecting him. Ara grabbed Avery by the face, squeezing his broken jaw and pulling him close as he grunted in pain.

"Look at me!" she shouted. Avery opened two angry eyes. "Obliviate," she said, looking at him intently, watching as the memory left him with no recollection of Draco or what had transpired with Harry. She whispered a small spell, healing his broken jaw with a crack, but leaving his nose the way it was. "Hello Avery," she said softly.

"Lestrange," he said with a growl glancing behind her to the teens holding their wands in front of them, shaking only slightly.

"I have a message for your master," she said in a tight voice only briefly wondering if she should have run her plans by the others. "Tell him attacking purebloods doesn't help his cause, if he wants to win me over, he'd better find another way than murdering a child."

"Bitch," Avery grunted only to groan in pain as her hand tightened.

"Go," she said. When he took a step towards her she put her hand on his chest, causing him to fly back and hit the wall. The room got dark quickly as Ara called the shadows and with a whisper Avery was sucked through the black smoke, a look of fear etched on his broken face.

"Are you alright?" Ara asked looking at the small group of teens behind her. They were all in relatively good condition, minus Harry who was sweating and bleeding from his chest. It didn't seem to be too deep, but Lily would need to heal it.

There was a loud bang and the five of them jumped towards the door. With a flick of her wand, Ara made it snap shut. They looked at her angrily, clearly wanting to join the fight downstairs.

"_portus," _she whispered grabbing a shoe off of Ron's bed. She thrust it towards them "you need to go," she said softly.

They shook they're head adamantly, but it was Draco who spoke. "You're mad if you think we're leaving you here… we're fighting," he said while the others nodded in agreement.

"No offense, but you lot are more trouble than helpful. We can't fight them if we have to worry about you. Harry and Draco you are _targets_ and while you are here everyone else is in greater danger. You need to go."

"We want to help," Ginny said with fire in her eyes.

Ara shook her head once more "if you want to help, get James and Sirius here," she said, thrusting the shoe at them once more.

They all looked hesitant, but knew she was right. With a grumble they grabbed onto the shoe and in a second they were whisked away.

* * *

Sirius was pacing, while James was grimacing, and Lily was glaring at him from her place on the couch. It had been a common argument, one about Remus. They all loved their friend dearly and felt he'd suffer enough for one lifetime, but to know what Dumbledore was having him do, made their blood boil. Especially since he didn't argue at all.

They were interrupted from there thinking when a small group landed hard on the living room floor, it seemed the portkey hadn't landed exactly where it was intended, since they fell a good seven feet before hitting the ground.

James, Sirius and Lily jumped up at the sight of them. James went and pulled Harry onto his feet, while Lily and Sirius helped the others. "Dad!" Harry said loudly, gripping his father's cloak.

"The Burrow's under attack," He said hurriedly, running towards the fireplace as though he planned on returning to the fight.

James grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back, beating him to the fireplace and ending the connection with a tap of his wand.

James turned and shared a look with him and Lily, their mind was on the same thing, Ara. It was clear she had stayed to fight, and she was in more danger than the Weasleys were. "Stay here and stay together."

The three of them raced out the front door and as they left, James tapped the wall of the front door locking it down. While they teens wouldn't be able to leave, it also meant the Death Eaters couldn't get in.

They ran to the end of the ward, Sirius sending off a Patronus to Dumbledore. With a pop the three of them were gone, landing in the yard of the burrow.

A crash was heard as they gathered their bearings and they saw Fred being thrown from the house through the window. Lily ran towards him while James and Sirius ran into the house. There were four of them; Molly, Arthur, Bill, and George being overpowered by ten death eaters.

"Stupefy," James shouted from beside him, narrowly missing one of the masked Death Eaters.

Sirius started firing off hexes, doing his best not to worry about what happened to Ara. One Death Eater was out cold when Bill was knocked off his feet, hitting the wall behind him hard as a cruciatus curse hit him in the chest. As soon as the screaming had started, it had ended as the masked Death Eater was hanging upside down in the air by his ankle, a situation that would have been funny had it not been so serious. Ara ran through the side door, her wand pointed at the hanging man, with a slide of her wand, the man was slid sideways until it hit the wall, landing unconsciously.

Sirius was amazed at the young witch. She was merely eighteen but was fighting the Death Eaters as though she were a seasoned Auror. With a slash of her wand, one Death Eater fell to the floor, grabbing his bleeding stomach. In another swipe another Death Eater was flown backwards to his comrade.

That seemed to do it for the Death Eaters for one by one they disapparated. One of them taking his unconscious friend with him.

"Cowards," Ara said with a huff before turning and heading towards Bill who was sitting on the floor taking deep breaths.

"The burrow isn't safe," James said running his hands through his already messy hair.

Molly had tears in her eyes as Lily came through the front with Fred following closely behind her. He was walking slow and trembling but seemed well despite flying through a window.

"You can come and stay with us… Potter Manor is as safe as can be."

Molly nodded with tears in her eyes as she pulled Fred into a tight hug, then George. She then made her way to Bill who was now leaning against the wall, holding tight to Ara's hand as she whispered something to him.

"Let's go," Bill said to Molly as she approached. "We should each pack a bag…" He trailed off glancing at Ara and heading upstairs to his room.

"Bill's right," Sirius said. "Ara and I will get the kids' stuff," he said before following Bill's path, gesturing for Ara to come with him. He opened the door and peaked around before heading in, making sure there were no lingering death eaters. "What happened in here?" he asked, noting the blood on the wall, the broken window shattered across the floor, and a dent in the wall. Worry filled Sirius' gut. He reminded himself that he saw the teens, safe and sound at Potter Manor. He glanced at the blood on the wall, thinking of his godson. Harry had been bleeding, but it didn't seem like it was nearly that much.

"Ara?" he asked although he wasn't even certain Ara had been in the room.

She hesitated briefly "does it matter?" she asked, not in a harsh way, but in a way that suggested she didn't want to talk about it.

He reached forward and pulled her into a hug, a tight one trying to convey that it was alright, whatever she did. That she and them were safe and that was all that mattered. She pulled back rather quickly "we need to go," she said, her voice softer than it had been.

Sirius pulled back and with a couple waves of their wands the bags were packed, shrunk, and placed in their pockets. Sirius waved his wand twice more and the blood disappeared and the window went back to normal.

The two of them left the room quickly, meeting James, Bill, and Arthur in the living room.

"The others have already gone to Potter Manor to check on the children," Arthur said.

Ara walked over to Bill and squeezed his hand comfortingly. If he hadn't known that she was in love with Charlie, he would have thought there was something between the two of them.

"Let's lock the place down then get out of here," James said.

They made their way outside before James, Sirius, and Bill turned towards the house, raising their wands in sync. It was sad how often they'd done this in their lifetimes. Sure Bill had done it for work, but James and Sirius did it for protection. They finished quickly, no one would be able to enter or leave the burrow until the enchantments were lifted. One by one the apparated out of there, feeling as though the war had already begun.

* * *

There had been an impromptu order meeting. It was brief, they described what had been done and what would come next. It was decided that the Weasleys and Lupin would be moving into Potter Manor. Sure, the home would be full, but at least everyone would be safe. Bill had tried arguing, saying he'd get a place of his own, but Molly had shut the idea down quickly.

For the most part Ara stayed close to Bill; not for her comfort, but for his. She could remember what it was like the first time she'd been hit with the cruciatus curse. All she wanted afterwards was for comfort, for someone to tell her everything would be okay. Sure, she had been way younger than Bill, but it didn't matter what age you were, it felt like ever bone was shattered and then lit on fire. In those brief moments' death was more welcoming. In those moments you wished you'd been hit with the killing curse instead.

"Ara, what happened with the Death Eater that was upstairs with the others?" Arthur asked kindly, it was the only thing that hadn't been discussed.

"when we saw that the burrow was under attack, I went straight upstairs to them while Bill joined the fight downstairs. The Death Eater had Harry… I'm not sure if he had orders to kill him or take him back… he'd gotten all their wands away from them. Well I got the upper hand and forced him to leave," she said simply, more like made the shadows suck him up and spit him out in a faraway forest, leaving him to crawl back to his master, but she didn't think that was necessary information.

Dumbledore and Sirius both looked at her as though they knew she were leaving stuff out.

"Thank you," Molly said quietly, she was still shaken. It was understandable of course; her children had been attacked and she could no longer return home.

She simply nodded in response. She wouldn't have let anything happen to Draco or Harry and they really hadn't been after the others.

Dumbledore and the other order members didn't stay long. Plans were made to better ward everyone else's houses, but considering they weren't super close to Harry, they were all relatively safe for the time being. When it was just the new occupants of Potter Manor left, James called for the teens to come in. They sandwiched themselves around the table, Draco sitting firmly between Ara and Bill and Harry sitting between his parents. The Weasley children gathered around their own parents. It was a subdued atmosphere to say the least.

"So there are only eight bedrooms here," James said, sharing a glance with Lily. Sirius frowned, but his eyes widened with realization shortly after.

"It'll be tight, but hopefully you all don't mind sharing. Remus is moving into Sirius' room, Fred and George will have a room. Ron can move into Harry's. Hermione and Ginny…. Hm..." He trailed off matching rooms to people. He grimaced when he realized there weren't enough rooms. "I suppose we could use the ninth room," he hesitated glancing at Lily who grimaced before shaking her head.

"What's wrong with the ninth room?" Ara asked.

"It was Alaina's," Lily said quietly.

The other occupants of the room sighed in realization. Ara had heard that some parents would keep their kids' rooms fully intact after they passed away, she hadn't realized James and Lily did it as well.

"I'll share with Ara," Draco said with a shrug, much to the surprise of the others in the room. "Then Bill can have his own room."

"Thank you, Draco," Lily said softly. Draco looked away uncomfortably, it wasn't often he was thanked.

"well I suppose that's it then," James said, pushing back his chair. He seemed intent on either going to bed or getting a stiff drink, Ara wasn't sure which.

"Dad," Harry interrupted, his voice strong as he glanced around the room. "I want to learn how to fight… we all do." The others nodded in agreement, it seemed that during the order meeting it was what they had discussed.

"I hardly think that's necessary," Molly started, only to be cut off by Harry.

"It is necessary… There were five of us and we were overpowered by a single Death Eater… This is the second time in three months that someone has tried to kill me and Ara won't always be there to save me… I want to fight," he said, looking his father hard in his eyes.

Lily had tears in her eyes, but one thing that was similar between her and James was that they were both proud.

"Alright," James said, patting him on the shoulder. "There's no magic outside of school, but we can start with theory – "

"They won't be able to trace it in a home that is as heavily warded as this," Bill said. At their doubtful looks, Bill sighed. "He'll kill me for saying, but when Charlie and I were staying here when he was thirteen and I was fifteen, Charlie did a bit of magic with his wand. Nothing ever came of it so I did research on it and they can trace when magic is done near underage wizards, but they can't trace if it comes from the person who is underage or if it comes from someone of age who is simply near them."

"He's right," Ara said with a shrug "I would do magic all the time at home and never got in trouble for it."

James nodded "alright… I can't give permission for the Weasleys and I don't know where we'll start, but we'll help you and Hermione train…" he said, glancing at Arthur.

"I think it's a good idea,"

"but Arthur –"

"Molly I'd rather our children be over prepared for something that may never happen than to be under prepared…. As much as we may hate it, they may very well be involved in the war when it comes. We are members of the order and Ron's best friend is Voldemort's number one target."

Harry's face dropped and Lily's hold on his hand tightened. "I'm sorry," Harry said softly, looking at the Weasley's with guilty eyes.

"Oh no Harry dear, we don't blame you at all," Mrs. Weasley said quickly.

"Harry, it's nobody's fault but Voldemort's… He's targeted you since you were a child. Besides, I think my life is better since I met you… Goodness only knows what I'd be doing no if I hadn't." Ara said softly. It was hard to think about, part of her wondered if she'd be in another country doing her own thing, but realistically she knew that she'd be fighting for the other side of the war.

Harry had a small smile, her talk did seem to do the trick.

"I'm going to bed," Ara said quickly. She didn't like having all their eyes on her. "Goodnight, see you all in the morning." She kissed Harry on the cheek before making her way to her bedroom. She knew it was still early, not even nine yet, but she didn't care. The house had just gotten a whole lot more crowded and she knew it would be that much harder to keep her secrets. She was unsure of many things, but one thing she was certain of was that father or not, Voldemort wouldn't make it through the war.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_The lights were blurry as the room spun around her. Perhaps it was her that was spinning. His hands were tight on her waist as she wrapped each arm around his neck, afraid they might slip away if she were to let go._

_they were in her ship, in her room. Both Harry and Fleur sat off to the side while she and Cedric danced to the soft music that was playing. Her mind was empty, it was a freeing feeling. It was a rare occasion where the feeling of the room spinning and feeling lightheaded was welcomed. They both had two left feet and seemed to be stumbling over each other. _

_ "I love you; you know?" he said softly, pulling her tighter. _

_ "I know," she responded, unable to return the phrase the way he meant it. _

_ "Weasley's a lucky guy," he said, pulling her even closer. _

_ His lips were nearly on hers. She could feel his breath tickle her skin. She closed her eyes briefly only to open them when the touch of his lips never came. She frowned at the look of terror that had overcome his face. It was brief before he was thrown backwards into the darkness. _

_ "Cedric!" Ara shouted while running forward, hesitating only slightly at still darkness. She plowed through and came to a clearing. Cedric was kneeling at Voldemort's feet while Harry stood tied to a tombstone. _

_ "well done Ara," Voldemort said, his eyes never leaving Cedric. _

_ "Ara!" Cedric shouted before a green beam of light hit him in the chest and he slumped to the floor, his fearful eyes wide and unseeing. _

She gasped as she sat up in bed, looking around frantically, trying to come to grips with the situation. She let out a heavy sigh when she saw Draco sleeping soundly in the bed on the other side of the room. She remembered where she was and what had happened, it was a dream. Well as much of a dream as it could be, Cedric was still dead.

She climbed out of bed and left the room, pulling her hair into a bun as she walked. She made her way to the kitchen, pouring herself some hot tea as she sat heavily at the table. She wasn't there alone for long before Harry joined her, looking equally shaken.

"Nightmare?" she asked, pouring him a cup of tea as well.

Harry nodded rubbing his hands on his face. "Cedric," he said simply.

Ara nodded "me too."

He looked at her surprised, before his eyes softened "You liked him right?"

Ara shrugged "he was a great guy, but I couldn't like him like that… I was too in love with Charlie."

The silence was comfortable, they sat sipping their tea and listening to the ticking of the clock. It wasn't until the bird chimed that Harry said anything.

"I shouldn't have asked him to take the cup with me…"

Ara looked at him intently, she could see the guilt swimming in his eyes. It was guilt she had felt as well. She didn't blame Harry in the slightest, thought if anything it were more her fault than his.

"I should have broken through the glass… Gotten to the cup before either of you."

Harry looked up quickly before snorting "seems ridiculous for you to blame yourself…"

"Same with you," she said with a small smile.

He tapped his finger on his mug, opening and closing his mouth as though deciding whether or not to say what he wanted.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"What was it you did to that Death Eater? I know you didn't tell anyone what really happened." It wasn't accusatory, but curious.

Ara hesitated, she was surprised no one had asked her earlier. "I sent him away…"

Harry hesitated "is it something you can show me?"

Ara sighed and shook her head "it wasn't light magic Harry."

"I figured as much," he said, catching Ara off guard. "Dad told me once that it wasn't the magic itself that's dark, it's the way it's used."

She'd never heard James say something like that before, then again she hadn't spent much time with the man. "I'll think about it… just don't tell anyone yet," she said softly.

Harry nodded in agreement and the two continued to sit in a comfortably silence, lost in their own thoughts until the sun started to rise.

When Harry yawned Ara said "you should get some rest… We're celebrating your birthday tonight," with a small smile, she ushered him upstairs before heading to her own room hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

The house was even more crowded than it was before. It seemed the entire order and a handful of additional Hogwarts students had come to celebrate Harry's birthday. Although Potter Manor was large, the sheer number of people in addition to the beautiful weather meant that they were celebrating outside.

Ara smiled and hugged some of the others warmly, wishing Harry a Happy Birthday, but for the most part she sat in the background, avoiding conversation. It was this that brought her out to the hammock on a secluded side of the yard, away from all the party goers. They were in a jovial mood compared to only a couple days previously, but Ara couldn't bring herself to be a part of it. Her mind was stuck on repeat thinking of her lineage and her nightmares. Thinking of Cedric's lifeless body.

The hammock dipped before swinging forward. She clenched her stomach to keep from rolling backwards as she slid sideways towards Bill.

"Arse," she whispered, not bothering to lean away from him.

"Aww you're so sweet," he said, pulling her into a hug, before propping up his feet and maneuvering them so they were lying on the hammock side by side.

"And what would Charlie say with this position?"

Bill laughed "he'd shove his way in-between us before telling you to get me a date with that pretty blonde that works with me."

She rolled her eyes "why can't you get your own date? A dashing young man like you…"

He flashed her a charming, shit eating grin. "Fleur is from France… So, she's missing the hints I'm sending her."

Ara snorted, she highly doubted that was the case. Fleur wasn't as oblivious as people liked to believe and she'd had her fair share of people of all races and countries hit on her. She was also the kind to make a man try for her though… she had to, she could pretty much have anyone.

"We'll see Bill… I don't particularly like being dishonest with my friends and I'd have to be _very_ dishonest to get her to date you – Ouch"

He shoved her hard in the side. "I hate you."

"but I'm so pleasant…" she trailed off, her eyes closed, resting her head on the pillow behind her with the warmth of Bill beside her. She briefly wondered if it was inappropriate for her to be sharing the hammock with him, but she knew there was nothing romantic on either of their ends. She decided at this moment she didn't particularly care, the warmth was nice. She used to lay with Connor when she struggled with sleep.

She was nearing sleep when Bill's voice drifted through her head, bringing back to consciousness.

"Charlie fire called me... He's worried about you."

She knew, he had fire called her as well that morning. It was the first she'd heard from him since the attack on the burrow, even though a couple days had passed. He had been away from civilization.

"There's nothing to worry about," she said plainly.

"hm…. Well I told him that as well, but you know if you don't start sleeping, I'll tell him the truth."

She snorted at the threat "what will you say? Charlie please come home; your girlfriend is having bad dreams that don't affect anyone but herself."

Bill shook his head "you can't live without sleep."

"eventually, close to my death probably, I'll be tired enough that I'll actually sleep."

"My mum can make you dreamless sleep potion."

"I don't want anyone involved in this," she insisted, curling into a ball, rubbing her head into his side. "I don't even know how you know about it."

Bill shrugged "Draco's worried."

"Well stop…. Stop worrying, nightmares never killed anyone."

As the day stretched on, others left for their homes before dark, leaving behind the current residents of Potter Manor. Ara made her way towards Harry, handing him a nicely wrapped present.

He looked curiously at her when he pulled out the bracelet.

"It's a protective bracelet," she said softly. "It'll protect you for minor jinxes and hexes."

Harry gave her a hug, thanking her.

"You're the biggest trouble magnet I've ever met, I figured you could use an extra hand."

Harry snorted before turning and showing his parents and Sirius.

Are smiled at their 'thanks' before slowly making her way back to her room, letting her bed claim her once more, hoping that the nightmares stayed away, even if only for a night.

* * *

The shattering of ceramic on tile caused her to jerk her head up quickly.

"I'm so sorry," she said, putting her feet on the ground and waving her wand to clean up the remnants and put the pieces of the cup back together.

Molly, Lilly, Ginny and Hermione were sitting around the table with her, all looking at her with concern.

"How much have you slept in the last week?" Lily asked softly, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand.

Ara shrugged "I'll be fine,"

"I can get you dreamless sleep potion," she said, but Ara shook her head quickly. She'd taken it after Cedric's death, but she hated the stuff.

There was a small wrapping at the window and Lily opened it for the owl to fly in. It wasn't one that had been at potter Manor since she'd arrived. It was pure black with yellow eyes and something about the owl gave her a chill. It landed in front of her, she relieved it of it's parcel and offered it water that it refused. The owl simply turned and flew back out the window it came from.

Inside the small package was a single white rose, a picture, and a letter. She skipped over the two items and opened the letter with a frown. She stilled at the thin slanted lettering that skipped over the page. It was shaky at best. Parts of the letters were missing and there were large ink stains throughout the letter. Her breath caught in her throat as she read the first line.

_To my darling daughter,_

_ I realize you haven't had the easiest childhood, and I'm sorry for not being able to provide you with a better one. I never wanted to leave you with Lucius, I had never intended on being incarcerated. I had hoped, like the others, that we would bring awareness to what is right and to our cause. _

_ I want you to remember those times when you were a child before your mother and I went away. Remember the times when we held you and took you to the park. Remember the times when we were a family. It was them that took it from us. It was them that believed that just because our beliefs differed from them we needed to be punished. _

_ I'm sure you've read about our crimes, about what we did, but please know that we never hurt anyone who was innocent. They believed we were dirt of the earth because of the magic that we used. All we wanted to show people was that there was another way to life, another way to make our society better. _

_ Darling, you were named after a constellation, one that is only seen in the southern hemisphere. Here's the thing Ara, a certain darkness is needed to see the stars. You were born in the shadows, you were raised in them, they are apart of you. I know what happened to Avery, don't you see? This is who you were born to be. They serve you and you alone. No one is as skilled in that form of magic and if you continue to fight for the light, the shadows will feel betrayed. The light doesn't understand the shadows, they never will, this is why you belong with us. Our goal isn't to wipe out muggles, it is to live our best lives. Our goal is to give people who are a little different a place in this wold. Werewolves, giants, dementors, all these creatures that you hold dear have a place in our world. They don't have a place in the world you are fighting for. _

_ We will be rejoined soon enough, please remember my darling girl that we are your family. We will love you when everyone turns away, when no one understands. I know you discovered our family tree, you may not be my daughter by blood, but you have always been my little girl. _

_With all my love,_

_Daddy_

Her skin crawled and her eyes welled with tears. She wasn't sure if they were angry tears or sad tears. She grabbed the picture and saw the laughing face of her father holding her tightly as they sat outside under a tree on a blanket.

It wasn't the childhood she remembered. There weren't good times, but she questioned if that was because of her mother or Lucius. Rodolphus had been kind at times.

When she thought of life with her parents she could still feel the blade pierce her skin. She could still feel the fear of failure as she did her best to make them proud. The only love she ever felt came from Severus and her aunt. She didn't remember a happy time in the park. She didn't remember birds chirping or the smell of freshly cut grass. She remembered the smell of blood and the feel of broken bones.

She whipped roughly at her eyes barely noticing the voices that were calling out to her until a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Molly looking concerned. Lily was standing a short ways behind her.

"Is the Floo connected to Hogwarts?" She asked stiffly.

Lily hesitated before nodding. "I'll come with you."

Ara wanted to refuse, but the look in the woman's eyes suggested that she'd be coming whether or not Ara agreed.

She stuffed the letter into her pocket, holding tightly to the photo before following Lily through the flames. They landed in a classroom Ara didn't recognize, but the surprised face of Professor McGonagall, suggested that this was her classroom.

"Is Albus here?" Lily asked.

"Snape," Ara corrected "I need to see Snape."

Lily looked at her surprised

"He's in the dungeons," Mgonagall answered briskly.

Ara thanked her before heading quickly to the door and through the halls, ignoring Lily who was trying to ask her quesitons.

She didn't knock when she reached his office door, but simply strode in.

Snape wore a look of frustration that quickly turned to confusion and concern at the sight of her.

"Ara, Wha-"

She didn't listen to him, but strode to his desk and slammed the picture down in front of him. "Were we happy? Because I don't ever remember being happy with them…"

Severus looked at the picture and his eyes became sad. "Where'd you get this?"

"It was sent to me," she said simply.

"your father wrote to you?" He asked sharply. "What did the letter say?"

"You knew them back then Sev, was there a time when we were happy?"

"I don't know…" he answered apologetically "I was closer to Lucius than the other two… the couple times I met you you were polite and well behaved. You didn't seem to shy away from either of them and they weren't mean to you in public… but-" He hesitated briefly "Narcisssa had threatened Lucius once…"

"what do you mean?" She asked, having difficulty imagining Aunt Cissa ever threatening her uncle.

"She said that if he were ever to treat Draco the way they treated you, she'd leave him and he'd never find them… reminded him that she's a Black capable of many things."

She signed and plopped down in front of him, grabbing the note from her pocket. "I can remember the abuse, just not the joy… I only got that when I was with you and Aunt Cissa as I got older."

Severus looked at the picture once more and sat across from her. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more about it… I can't believe he wrote you."

Ara shrugged glancing at the open note.

"What did he say?"

The question came from Lily who was standing off to the side and Ara momentarily forgot was there.

She shook her head, she wouldn't show them the letter "just that we were family and they'd be there for me when everyone else leaves… He's clearly trying to manipulate me," even hearing the words that came out of her mouth, she wasn't entirely certain she believed it. Part of her still believed that there would come a time when the Potters turned their back and when she'd be left without anyone. Part of her believed that she was born dark, that it was apart of her and there was no turning back on that. Part of her felt that she wasn't good enough for them.

The two of them exchanged a look "if you won't show us the letter, will you show Dumbledore."

She kept re-reading the last paragraph where he mentions that he isn't her biological father. It was a large piece of information and she wasn't sure she was ready for anyone, even the headmaster to know it.

"I think the only thing that's important for him to know is that he said we'd be 'rejoined soon enough,'" she said bitterly.

Snape nodded and reached out a hand to grasp Ara's. "I'm sorry I took your uncle's side that day when you ran to me…"

Ara looked at him, her gaze hard. "Are you really a spy for the order? Or are you a true death eater?"

His look was sad, but he never broke eye contact. "I am a spy for the Order." He said simply and for the first time she was beginning to believe him.

* * *

_She wandered through Potter Manor. It was light out, but there wasn't anyone in sight. It was odd considering the fullness of the house over the last week since the incident at the burrow. She walked through the kitchen, it seemed there was almost always someone there, but it was empty as well. Convinced that they all must have gone into the backyard to play Quidditch, she made her way out there. _

_It was cold, far too cold for summer. The sun was bright and the air looked to be sweltering with heat waves. She made her way out to the small rose garden and couldn't stop the gasp that left her. James lay on the ground, next to Lily, both of their eyes open and unseeing. _

_Her feet kept moving, but she wasn't sure why. Part of her knew she should check on them, though it would be pointless. She could see someone standing at the far edge of the garden, though the garden itself seemed to be miles longer than normal. Strewn across the garden were bodies all in various stages of decaying, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the others. Some looked to have died from the killing curse while others died bloody deaths. She kept walking, tears filled her eyes as she saw the dead bodies of Bill and the twins. _

_"No," She whispered as she passed a small hedge, only to see the mutilated body of Charlie. She couldn't get herself to fall to her knees beside him. Her feet kept moving towards the figure at the end. _

_The closer she got, the more she realized that what she saw wasn't a figure, but rather figures. Two people stood at the end of the garden, standing rather close though it was clear this wasn't because of friendship. At the ground beneath their feet was Draco, blood pouring from his neck while his insides laid scattered across the ground around him. _

_Only then did she realize she had a knife in her hand. She shuddered at the sight. It was pure silver, eight inches in length, with a brass handle carved to look like a snake. She could remember the knife from her childhood, when it was used to carve words into her skin. Now she held it, dripping with blood that wasn't her own. _

_"My darling Ara," said the cool, lifeless voice of the man in front of her. He stood calmly, his black robes moving in the breeze as his snake like face and red eyes stared hard at the figure beside him. _

_"Cedric," she whispered, moving closer to him. _

_"Now, now Ara… you know why you're here," Voldemort taunted, a sickly-sweet smile plastered on his face as he glanced at the knife in her hand. "This was all your doing you know," he gestured to the body's lying behind her. _

_She shook her head "I wouldn't," she said disbelievingly. _

_Voldemort simply nodded "yes you did… You know your rightful place Ara, you know you belong by my side, we are the same after all… My blood flows through your veins." _

_"Don't listen to him Ara," Cedric pleaded, his eyes wide and fearful. He had never been fearful of her before. "Please you don't have to do this… you aren't like him," he insisted. _

_Ara shook her head "I'm not evil," she said quietly, not quite believing what she was saying. _

_"No?" Voldemort asked with a smile still on his face. "wasn't it you who killed that muggle all those years ago? Didn't you stab the werewolf in the leg? Wasn't it you who tormented your friend until he withdrew from school? Tell me, does anyone know just how deep you've gone in the dark arts?" _

_She shook her head… she hadn't meant to be so horrible, in any of those situations. _

_"Besides, you've already killed Cedric… you were far more powerful than you seemed, are you really telling me you couldn't break the glass barrier?" _

_The surroundings shifted, they were no longer in the garden at Potter Manor, but were in the graveyard of Little Hangleton. Cedric and Voldemort stood in the same positions, but the dead were closer, nearly at her feet and it was then that she realized they all died from stab wounds. _

_"finish the job Ara," Voldemort said once more. _

_"Please," Cedric whispered, his eyes shining with tears. _

_"your blood runs black," Voldemort said once more "Look at what you've already done," he said gesturing to the bodies littering the ground behind her. _

_There wasn't time to think, the last thing Ara saw was Cedric's pleading eyes as she stabbed the knife through his chest, directly into his heart. She watched him gasp and struggle before the life left his eyes and he fell to the ground with a thud. _

_Voldemort was laughing, high pitched, maniacal._

_He was right, she was born this way, but she didn't want to be. She wanted to be let out. _

_She wasn't sure when she had started screaming, but her voice felt raw as she drowned out Voldemort's laughs. _

_ This can't be real, she thought, shutting her eyes tightly praying to wake up. When she opened her eyes again she somewhere else, somewhere she'd seen only in pictures. She stood in the forest while a boat slid closer and closer, four hunched figures squatting low in the boat. In the far away distance you could see the triangular shape of a large building. Even being this close to it sucked the life out of the surrounding area. The long black cloaks flew around the building effortlessly and Ara could see the life force being sucked through the walls. _

_ "mum" she whispered as the boat drew nearer and she realized who was in it. _

_ "Hello Darling," Bellatrix said as she stepped out of the boat. She was followed closely by three other men, only two of whom she recognized. _

_ "Beautiful Ara," the older of the men said, running the backs of his fingers across her cheekbone. "you've certainly grown up."_

_ "Hi dad," she said with a small, hesitant smile. She wasn't happy to see them, they belonged in the place in the middle of the ocean. They were supposed to rot there forever like so many others before them. _

_ Bellatrix laughed, it was high pitched and cruel. Another word for it could be insane. She was certain her mother was rather insane if she'd just come from Azkaban. _

_ "You always were a thoughtful child, no matter how hard I tried to get you to think less and listen more."_

_ Ara instinctively ran her fingers across her arms where she knew hidden scars lied. _

_ She turned to walk with them into the forest, her uncle and the other man following a short distance behind them. _

_ "Are you ready to join?" her father asked.  
"Join what?" she asked in a voice not her own. It was deeper, more lifeless, colder. _

_ The other two laughed as they walked into a clearing. They weren't alone, within the clearing was a circle of people. People who Ara knew from throughout her childhood. Death Eaters. She remained in front of her parents as they joined the circle, her uncle and the man standing next to them. Voldemort stood in the middle as he held out his hand to Ara. She didn't want to, but her feet carried her towards him. He grasped her hand and rolled up the arm of her shirt. He whispered something that she didn't recognize, but in an instant, she felt searing pain in her arm. _

_ "the sacrifice," Voldemort said, waving his arm to the side. _

_ Bellatrix and two of his masked Death Eaters came forward pulling a figure in-between them. The figure was familiar, but she couldn't see his face as it was covered with what seemed to be a pillow case. _

_ The pain in her arm grew sharper and she could see the dark mark being carved into her forearm. _

_ The hood was ripped off the man and Ara tried to pull away. _

_ "No," she said pleadingly. _

_ "sacrifices must be made Ara, he will only hold you down." _

_ Charlie stood, though barely. He looked like he had been beaten. _

_ "Not Charlie," she said through her tears. _

_ "There are others more worthy of your devotion," Bellatrix said and with one swipe of her arm, a slit appeared in his throat as blood began pouring out. _

"Ara!"

The voices were calling, but it wasn't possible, they were all dead, Charlie was dead. She'd killed them.

She was kicking, pushing everything away from her as she felt like she was being suffocated. She could feel the bile in her throat and the tingling in her cheeks. She landed hard on the ground, opening her eyes to find that she was no longer in the graveyard at Little Hangleton, no longer in the clearing of the woods on the shore of Azkaban, but on the floor of her bedroom at Potter Manor.

"It's just a dream," someone said, though they sounded as though they were far away.

She got shakily to her feet and ran the short distance to the bathroom before emptying the contents of her stomach. She tried her best to keep her eyes open for every time they closed, she could simply see the dead bodies of the people she'd betrayed. She wasn't sure how long she sat with her head in the toilet, but after a while there was someone behind her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She felt herself being lifted into strong arms and laid in bed. It was in the comfort of those arms that Ara felt herself slip into a welcome unconsciousness.

* * *

There was barely a light that shone on the book in front of him. He kept it dim as to not wake up his cousin, the last thing he needed was for her to start snooping around. He knew she knew something but was being kind enough not to pry for information. He snorted softly as he read the book, had anyone suggested a few months ago that he'd be staying at Potter Manor and would be working closely with his arch rival turned best friend, he'd try to have them committed, or rather have his father have them committed.

"No," Draco turned, the whisper was so soft, he'd barely heard it. It was then that he noticed the sweat on Ara's brow and the movement of her arms and legs.

He swung his legs off the bed, tucking the book underneath his mattress before padding across the wooden floor to her bed. "Ara," he whispered, gently shaking her. It wasn't the first night this week that he'd had to wake her from a bad dream.

He could feel the electricity flowing from her body as she continued to shake. After a moment she began thrashing even more, trying to rip the covers off of her, only to get wrapped up in them even tighter.

"wake up Ara, it's just a dream," he said, grabbing her once more.

She wasn't waking, but the dream seemed to be getting worse. He jumped back in surprise when she let out an ear-splitting scream.

"Stop," she yelled. Draco reached forward to grab her, but was thrown back, landing hard against the wall and falling into a heap on the floor.

The yelling and the thud seemed to wake up the other occupants of the home, for the room was soon filled with James, Sirius, Lily, Bill, Molly, and Arthur.

"She's having a nightmare," he said quickly from his place on the floor.

Sirius made his way over to her but was also thrown back when he got too close. She wasn't letting anyone touch her, making it harder to calm her down.

They tried spraying her with water and dropping cushions on her, but the barrier around her expanded, pushing everything away from her, even shooting it back at the caster. She let out another gut-wrenching scream, causing the window in the room to shatter into a million pieces on the floor.

"Should we stun her?" Arthur asked, keeping his distance.

Bill shook his head "It could knock us out."

"NO! STOP! NO!" she shouted again; her throat raw from screaming. The whole house seemed to shake, and they were at a loss of what to do. James was getting ready to cast a stunner, prepared to take the brunt of the backlash when Ara sat straight up before turning and rolling off the bed, landing hard on the floor.

Her clothes were drenched with sweat and her eyes were still clenched shut as she breathed heavily.

Bill made his way towards her only to get shocked badly by the barrier she had put up. It seemed even though she was awake, the barrier remained. After only another moment, she bolted past them, sending them flying back as she rushed into the bathroom. From their places on the floor they could hear the throwing up.

"I'll be back," Bill said quickly, heading towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Weasley asked quickly, but Bill simply shook his head and left.

Lily and Sirius had both tried getting close to her in the bathroom but were unable to do so. She sat with her head in the toilet and seemed to be unable to hear their words of comfort or reassurance. It wasn't long before Bill came back, pulling Charlie along behind him. As much as Draco wanted to know how Charlie managed to get from Romania to Potter Manor in the matter of minutes, he had more pressing issues, such as his cousin.

"She's put up a barrier, won't let anyone near her," Bill said, pointing towards the bathroom.

Charlie didn't say anything but headed straight for the bathroom. He hesitated only briefly, before laying his hand on her shoulder, feeling her relax against his touch. He rubbed her back soothingly as she threw up once more. When she was finished, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.

With a couple waves of her wand, Lily changed the sheets. Arthur pulled Molly out of the room, but the others remained while Charlie crawled in bed beside her, burying his head in her hair while her eyes rolled in her head and she slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

Draco followed the others out of the room. He was slightly surprised to find that no one else was up, though he assumed Mrs. Weasley had ushered them all back into their rooms.

"how'd you know that would help?" Sirius asked Bill, still rubbing his back from where it connected with the wall.

Bill shrugged "I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I think they have some sort of a soul bond."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

Draco had heard of soul bonds before, but they were rare in wizarding society. They generally only occurred between soul mates who had been married for many years.

"during the attack at the Burrow, Ara was hit with a cutting hex… Charlie couldn't say exactly what had happened, but he could feel her almost… he felt that something was wrong… I figured if anyone could get through to her it was him."

"Well good thinking then," Sirius said gratefully, glancing back at the door where Ara was.

"How'd you make it to Romania and back?" Lily asked.

Bill yawned and stretched "That's a story for another time… I really need to get some sleep."

James snorted "way to avoid the question… we'll find out eventually."

Bill shook his head "Ara can apparate in the grounds of Hogwarts, what makes you think I can't Apparate all the way to Romania?"

They all gave him disbelieving looks, other than Draco who still looked concerned.

"I've never seen her have a nightmare that bad… I know she wasn't sleeping well and she's had nightmares over the last few nights, but I could always wake her up," the question lingered in the air. The question of what they would do next time it were to happen or what they would do if the nightmares became even more horrible.

"I don't think Charlie will be going back to Romania," Bill said softly.

"Why do you say that?" Sirius asked.

Bill paused "it hasn't been the same for him since he got back… he's stayed because of Dumbledore, but I think he really wants to be here with Ara and the family… He wanted to come back after the attack on the burrow, but Ara convinced him to stay… now that she needs him, he won't be easily convinced."

The others nodded, each hoping that it was true, that someone would be there to take care of Ara.


End file.
